Jordan Rau

Consumers Fear They May Not Get Health Coverage On New Year’s Day

Hitches in the marketplace are putting those in need of health insurance for medications and special care behind schedule.

Jordan Rau
By Jordan Rau

Tambra Momi has been eagerly awaiting the promise of guaranteed health insurance. Since 2011, she has battled Dercum's disease, a rare and painful condition in which non-cancerous tumors sprout throughout her body, pressing against nerves. Jobless and in a wheelchair, Momi needs nine different drugs, including one costing $380 a month, to control

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Death Rates Rise At Geographically Isolated Hospitals, Study Finds

For 15 years, Congress has bestowed special privileges to some small remote hospitals, usually in rural areas, to help them stay afloat. Medicare pays them more than it pays most hospitals and exempts them from financial pressure to operate efficiently and requirements to reveal how their patients fare. Nearly one in four hospitals qualifies for […]

Jordan Rau
By Jordan Rau

For 15 years, Congress has bestowed special privileges to some small remote hospitals, usually in rural areas, to help them stay afloat. Medicare pays them more than it pays most hospitals and exempts them from financial pressure to operate efficiently and requirements to reveal how their patients fare. Nearly one in four hospitals qualifies for

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Study Finds Depression Is A Leading Risk For Higher Health Spending

Depression was the most costly among 10 common risk factors linked to higher health spending for employees, according to a new study of seven companies. The study published in Health Affairs found that the 10 factors — which also included obesity, high blood sugar and high blood pressure — were associated with nearly a quarter of the […]

Jordan Rau
By Jordan Rau
Prescription pills used to fight depression are shown in this Aug. 4, 2011 photo. (Photo by Steve Snodgrass via Flikr)

Depression was the most costly among 10 common risk factors linked to higher health spending for employees, according to a new study of seven companies. The study published in Health Affairs found that the 10 factors — which also included obesity, high blood sugar and high blood pressure — were associated with nearly a quarter of the money spent on

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Study Finds Premium Support Plan Could Raise Medicare Premiums In Many Parts of Country

The type of proposal championed by Republicans to overhaul Medicare by giving beneficiaries a fixed amount of money to purchase insurance could lead to significant increases in premium costs in some parts of the country, according to a new study. If the plan had been in place in 2010, six in 10 Medicare beneficiaries—about 25 million […]

Jordan Rau
By Jordan Rau
Sign at Occupy St Pete: "Hands Off Social Security, Medicaid Medicare" "www.SayNoCuts.org" (Photo by Robert Neff)

The type of proposal championed by Republicans to overhaul Medicare by giving beneficiaries a fixed amount of money to purchase insurance could lead to significant increases in premium costs in some parts of the country, according to a new study. If the plan had been in place in 2010, six in 10 Medicare beneficiaries—about 25 million people both

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Medicare To Penalize 2,211 Hospitals For Excess Readmissions

More than 2,000 hospitals — including some nationally recognized ones — will be penalized by the government starting in October because many of their patients are readmitted soon after discharge, new records show. Together, these hospitals will forfeit about $280 million in Medicare funds over the next year as the government begins a wide-ranging push […]

Jordan Rau
By Jordan Rau
Debbie Coluter, a certified nurses assistant, assists an elderly patient with Alzheimers Disease. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

More than 2,000 hospitals — including some nationally recognized ones — will be penalized by the government starting in October because many of their patients are readmitted soon after discharge, new records show. Together, these hospitals will forfeit about $280 million in Medicare funds over the next year as the government begins a

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Medicare IDs Few Hospitals As Outliers In Readmissions

Despite several years of concerted efforts, hospital readmission rates aren’t dropping, the latest Medicare data show. Readmissions cost Medicare $17.5 billion in inpatient spending, with nearly 10 million Mediciare beneficiaries readmitted within 30 days for any cause, a rate of nearly one in five Medicare patients who enter a hospital. Nonetheless, Medicare continues to publicly single out very few hospitals as poor […]

Jordan Rau
By Jordan Rau
A doctor talks with patients at a hospital Wednesday, July 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Despite several years of concerted efforts, hospital readmission rates aren’t dropping, the latest Medicare data show. Readmissions cost Medicare $17.5 billion in inpatient spending, with nearly 10 million Mediciare beneficiaries readmitted within 30 days for any cause, a rate of nearly one in five Medicare patients who enter a

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Safety Net Hospitals Could Lose Money In Medicare Changes, Study Warns

When Medicare begins adjusting hospital payments in October based on quality, one of the primary metrics will be patient experience ratings that cover everything from the communication skills of doctors and nurses to their promptness in responding to complaints about pain. A new study finds that this change may add to the financial troubles of safety net […]

Jordan Rau
By Jordan Rau
A doctor consult talks with a patient at a hospital. (Photo by Medill DC via Flikr)

When Medicare begins adjusting hospital payments in October based on quality, one of the primary metrics will be patient experience ratings that cover everything from the communication skills of doctors and nurses to their promptness in responding to complaints about pain. A new study finds that this change may add to the financial troubles of

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