Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services news stories on Newser

Obama's Next Hiring Move: $1B Health-Care Jobs Plan

Mark Russell — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:56:25 CST

With a deadlocked Congress still unable to launch any sort of jobs plan , the White House will announce today a $1 billion project for training and hiring health care workers, the latest in President Obama's "We Can't Wait" campaign, reports the Washington Post . The health care jobs plan will feature...

Breast Cancer Man Denied Coverage Because He's Not Female

Mark Russell — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 05:40:00 CDT

Raymond Johnson discovered last month that he was one of the 2,140 men who get breast cancer each year. But when he tried to use the Medicaid-funded Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000 to cover his cancer costs, he found out that he didn't meet...

Jan Brewer Wants to Charge Medicaid 'Fat Fee'

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 07:27:04 CDT

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has an idea for how to raise money for the state’s Medicaid program: charge obese people and smokers. Brewer’s proposal would require smokers or obese people who don’t follow a doctor’s weight loss program to pay a $50 fee if they are enrolled in Medicaid. If...

Almost 10% of Medicare Payments Improper

Kevin Spak — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 09:11:33 CST

The federal government lost around $48 billion to fraudulent and improper Medicare claims last year—which made up nearly 10% of all payments the program doled out, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. And even that figure might be on the low side, because it doesn’t...

GOP Gunning for Obama Health Nominee

Kevin Spak — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:29:36 CDT

Republicans have their knives out for Donald Berwick, President Obama's nominee to run Medicare and Medicaid. Berwick, a pediatrician and Harvard prof who runs a nonprofit aimed at cutting hospital errors, as well as costs, is a fan of Britain's single-payer health National Health Service, they note; he once declared...

Prices Jump for Top Drugs

Peter Fearon — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:45:00 CST

Drug companies have slapped a series of huge price hikes on some prescription drugs ahead of drug patent expirations, the Wall Street Journal reports. GlaxoSmithKline has raised the price of antidepressant Wellbutrin 44.5%, while Sanofi-Aventis hiked Ambien's price 70%. Wholesale prices for the top 50 drugs increased an average...

Docs Skimp on Kids' Health Care: Study

Peter Fearon — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 03:26:37 CDT

American children are not getting adequate preventive care during most visits to their pediatrician, a new study has found. Doctors skip basic screening tests, weight and measurement checks and some standard care for conditions such as asthma, according to the findings in the New England Journal of Medicine . Children in...