Travel the Exhibit Hall at Annual Conference and Win Prizes!
from SHCA
We encourage you to visit each and every exhibitor in Reno this year! Not attending conference, take the virtual tour and stop into any of the below url addresses to read more about what each of these companies can do to improve your patients’ experiences.

• Language Services Associates
• Press Ganey
• rL Solutions
• Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy (SHCA)
• Pacific Interpreters
• HealthStream, Inc.
• Guest Communications Corp.
• Popish Inc.
• Care One Corporation
• Swank Healthcare

CMS Starts Tightening Screws on Medicare Plans
from BNET
In a prelude to what could be draconian cuts in payments to Medicare Advantage plans, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced several changes in how it review bids for contract renewals. CMS will scrutinize Medicare Advantage companies that don’t cap out of pocket expenses at $3,400 or less to see if they’re discriminating against sicker enrollees. And insurers can’t charge sicker, poorer patients more than they would pay if they were enrolled in traditional Medicare. More

Over 120 Patient Advocacy Groups Support Legislation To Eliminate Two-Year Medicare Waiting Period
from Medical News Today
The Coalition to End the Two-Year Wait for Medicare, over 120 organizations who work to ensure access to health care for people with disabilities, enthusiastically supports the introduction of Ending the Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act of 2009, S.700 and H.R.1708, which would eliminate the unjustifiable two-year delay in coverage for people with severe disabilities who are waiting to become eligible for Medicare coverage. More

National Patient Advocate Foundation Applauds Senators Kennedy and Hutchinson for Introducing Legislation to Improve Cancer Care in America
from Fox News
The National Patient Advocate Foundation -- a national, non-profit organization dedicated to the mission of creating avenues of improved patient access to health care through public policy reform at the state and federal levels -- today praised Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) for introducing the 21st Century Cancer ALERT Act, which offers a comprehensive approach to combating cancer in America through improved cancer prevention, early detection, research and treatment. More

State Hospitals Make Top 100
from Indianapolis Star
Seven Indiana hospitals were recognized Monday in Thomson Reuters' annual study identifying the 100 top U.S. hospitals based on their overall organizational performance. St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital in Indianapolis, St. Joseph Regional Medical Center-South Bend, St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis, Columbus Regional Hospital, Memorial Hospital and Center in Jasper, Marion General Hospital and Major Hospital in Shelbyville made the list. More

Law Caps Hospital Fees for Uninsured
from ABC News – Chicago
A new law in Illinois will protect uninsured patients from paying higher hospital rates than patients who have insurance. Uninsured patients are charged much higher rates for hospital services than insured patients, whose rates are negotiated by third party insurance companies, according to Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Often, an uninsured patient's obligation to pay sticker price leads to financial hardship and even bankruptcy, said Madigan. More

Missouri Foundation for Health Study Says Cuts to Medicaid Added Strains to Health Centers Across State
from KBIA
Missouri's cut-backs to Medicaid more than three years ago added strains to health centers and hospitals across the state. That's based on a new study from the Missouri Foundation for Health, and partly funded by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City. More

Medicare Advantage Providers Face Government Oversight, New Rules
from Fierce Healthcare
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has set new policies for Medicare Advantage providers that will require it to eliminate or reduce out-of-pocket fees charged to enrollees by 2010. CMS also plans to take a more proactive role in overseeing the Medicare Advantage providers to ensure adherence to its new rules. More

End-of-life Costs Vary by Racial and Ethnic Groups
from Cancer Consultants
Researchers from Boston University and the Department of Bioethics of the National Institutes of Health have reported that African-American and Hispanic patients have higher end-of-life costs than White patients. The details of this study appeared in the March 9, 2009 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.[1] End-of-life costs contribute significantly to the overall cost of healthcare in the United States. End-of-life costs are partially related to the intensity of terminal care. Some of the more costly treatments involve intensive-care hospital stays, gastrostomy tube feeding, and ventilator support. More

Democrats Agree on a Health Plan; Now Comes the Hard Part
from The New York Times
Efforts to overhaul the health care system have moved ahead rapidly, with the insurance industry making several major concessions and the chairmen of five Congressional committees reaching a consensus on the main ingredients of legislation. The chairmen, all Democrats, agree that everyone must carry insurance and that employers should be required to help pay for it. They also agree that the government should offer a public health insurance plan as an alternative to private insurance. More