CMS

The popularity of at-home COVID tests has amplified calls from health researchers and diagnostic companies to make testing similarly routine for sexually transmitted diseases. But FDA guidelines are lagging.

A court decision last year makes it easier for low-income residents in Florida and other states that haven’t expanded Medicaid to make good-faith estimates of a pay increase, and there is no financial penalty if they don’t hit that figure.

Federal officials said they are penalizing 2,273 hospitals, the fewest since the fiscal year that ended in September 2014. Driving the decline was a change in the formula to compensate for the chaos caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Private Medicare Advantage health plans are increasingly ending coverage for skilled nursing or rehab services before medical providers think patients are healthy enough to go home, doctors and patient advocates say.

Elopements, while relatively rare, can be extremely dangerous, especially for people living with dementia. However, every instance raises concern about accountability, awareness, training and lack of "person-centered care."

State and federal laws require health plans to offer accurate lists of participating doctors and facilities, but consumers still struggle to get timely appointments with providers.

The Government Accountability Office and Health and Human Services inspector general’s office say seniors enrolled in the program are suffering and taxpayers are getting bilked for billions of dollars a year.

CMS chief Chiquita Brooks-LaSure says the agency reserves its power to quickly institute new regulations for “absolute emergencies.” On staffing, nursing home residents might need to wait years to see any real change.

Employers are increasingly using the Advantage program as an alternative to existing retiree plan and traditional Medicare. As a result, the federal government is paying the “overwhelming majority” of medical costs, according to an industry analyst.

Among the 764 hospitals hit with a 1% reduction in payments for having high numbers of infections and avoidable complications are more than three dozen Medicare ranks among the nation's best.

Census officials said there was no statistically significant difference in the number of uninsured when comparing 2018 and 2020 data.

Florida leads the nation in enrollment and plan selection. Texas, with more than 471,000 , was second in November, Enrollment will end Dec. 15.