medicare Archives - Quest National Services

The Business of Online Prescriptions

April 19, 2018

With the rising healthcare costs in America, and specifically prescription drugs, many seek relief by purchasing prescription drugs online. People have turned to cheaper online alternatives for clothes, books, hotel reservations, and more; online prescription drug purchases are quickly becoming a solution for pharmacy needs. Some health insurance programs even offer buying prescription drugs online …

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End of Life Care Improvements

August 20, 2017

End of Life Care Improvements According to a new report, Medicare patients are experiencing improvements in the end of life care that they receive. Specifically, beneficiaries who were chronically ill and in their last six months of life spent fewer days in the hospital in 2010 than they would have in 2007. Additionally, these beneficiaries …

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Hospital Readmission Rates are Down

May 20, 2016

Hospital Readmission Rates are Down New data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services shows that there has been improvement in hospital readmission rates over the last several years. While hospital readmission rates have been steady over the last five years, these new numbers show a small but significant readmission downturn in recent times. …

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Medicare Spending Doesn’t Lead to Increase

February 20, 2016

Increased Medicare Spending on Advanced Cancer Care Doesn’t Lead to Increase in Survival Rates A new study has called into question the notion that increased spending on cancer care results in greater patient survival rates. The study looked at hospitals in 80 different referral regions. These referral regions collectively represented 25 percent of the US …

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CMS Extends Payment Programs

November 25, 2015

CMS Extends Payment Programs for Rural and Low-Volume Hospitals Rural and low volume hospitals will be experiencing a bit of good fortune in the coming months – this is because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have recently announced an extension to provisions which provide supplemental payment to hospitals which have fewer than 100 …

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Change in Billing Option Leads to an Increase in Medicare Spending

May 17, 2015

A new study has found that a Medicare policy change which was intended to be spending-neutral in fact led to a 6.5 percent increase in spending on medical office visits during the year 2010. This measure, which eliminated a popular consultation billing option, has been tied to a resultant increase in billing by physicians for …

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CMS Contract to Ensure Physician Incentive Payments

August 28, 2011

Hewlett-Packard Awarded CMS Contract to Ensure Physician Incentive Payments It was reported in October 2010 that Hewlett-Packard (HP) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had entered into a contract that called for HP to maintain CMS’s Integrated Data Repository (IDR) and thereby provide data quality services that will improve the accuracy of …

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What health insurance options do seniors have?Medicare? AARP?

July 25, 2011

Health Insurance Options for the ElderlyWhen it comes to the health insurance needs of elderly Americans, some folks believe that Medicare is fully sufficient coverage and that no more thought needs to be given to the matter. Sadly, for many older individuals this coverage fails to substantially meet their varied medical coverage needs and additional …

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How to Make the Most of Medicare Reimbursements in 2011

February 17, 2011

How to Make the Most of 2011 Medicare Reimbursement Every summer, medical practice office managers as well as physicians anxiously await the release of Medicare reimbursement rates for the following year. While reports leading up to the big reveal usually let them know which way the scale will be tipping, in these tough economic times …

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Are There EMR Incentives Outside of Medicare and Medicaid?

July 28, 2010

The short answer (at least for now) is not really. The ARRA EHR stimulus money is provided through Medicare and Medicaid programs as “bonuses” for those who show “meaningful use” of a “certified EHR.” With that said, there are some grants available for special situations. For example, they have a beacon communities program which …

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