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Posts Tagged ‘federal’

Federal Court Rejects California Medicaid Cuts

The San Francisco Chronicle: “A federal appeals court barred California on Wednesday from lowering Medi-Cal payments to doctors and hospitals by 5 percent and from cutting in-home care workers’ wages by nearly 20 percent, saying the state’s budget crisis doesn’t justify violating federal laws that protect the poor and disabled. In four rulings, the Ninth U.S…

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Federal Officials Focus On Radiation Practices At Florida Clinic; Medical Scan Makers Announce New Efforts To Prevent Mistakes

Medicare regulations require that when patients receive some types of highly specialized cancer treatments, their radiation oncologist must be on site. But The New York Times reports that federal officials are investigating a Florida cancer clinic that billed Medicare for such treatments while the doctors were absent, sometimes on overseas trips…

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Federal Officials Seek To Root Out Financial And Medicare Fraud

Reuters: “The head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal division told a gathering of criminal defense lawyers on Thursday that the division was using tools ‘not often seen in white collar cases’ to combat financial fraud,” which includes Medicare…

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Huge Medicaid Cuts To Occur If Congress Fails To Extend Enhanced Federal Funding

An extension of increased federal matching funds to states for their Medicaid programs is needed quickly to avert huge cutbacks in Medicaid coverage and services across the country, according to a report issued today by the consumer health group Families USA…

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Calif. Budget Cuts Would End Aid To New Legal Immigrants; Minn. Dems Criticize Pawlenty For Relying On Federal Funds

Los Angeles Times: “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest proposals to close California’s budget shortfall would end public assistance for most new legal immigrants, eliminating emergency cash, food and medical aid for those who don’t yet qualify for federal welfare. The proposal would represent an about-face for the state…

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Deficit Panel To Tackle Worries Of Federal Debt, Including Health Spending

The New York Times reports that President Obama’s appointment of a special panel to study the nation’s debt will come “(a)fter decades of warnings that budgetary profligacy, escalating health care costs and an aging population would lead to a day of fiscal reckoning…

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Investigation: Dangerous Caregivers Missing From Federal Database Of Disciplinary Records

News outlets report on health care fraud and legal issues, including missing disciplinary records in a federal database of dangerous caregivers and a new federal bill that would target fake Medicare claims for prescriptions and equipment…

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With Federal Health Bill Stalled, California Senate To Vote On Comprehensive, Medicare For All Healthcare Reform

With prospects for national healthcare reform dimming following Tuesday’s election in Massachusetts, a major bill that would establish universal healthcare, through a Medicare-for-all style reform, has been cleared today for a new vote in the California legislature. SB 810, The California Universal Healthcare Act, authored by Sen…

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Missouri Best In Using Federal Aid To Combat Medicaid Fraud, Other States Fight Over Federal Rules

The Kansas City Star reports that Missouri led the country in 2008 in efficiency in using federal dollars to combat Medicaid fraud. “The state recovered almost $29.8 million in 2008, the most recent year for which comparative data are available, while receiving about $1.6 million in federal Medicaid fraud grants. That equates to $18…

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Wisconsin Rural Hospitals Hope For Federal Money To Offset State Medicaid Cut

Wisconsin State Journal: “Wisconsin’s rural hospitals hope to offset a state Medicaid cut with a tax that would bring more federal money to the hospitals. The proposed tax on the state’s 59 ‘critical access’ hospitals, all in rural areas, would prevent the hospitals from closing important services, officials say…

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