The Politics of Health Care

Death With Dignity

Lisa Brzezicki — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:48:00 GMT

Earlier this week, Vermont legislature became the first legislative body in the nation to approve death-with-dignity legislation, with Gov. Peter Shumlin vowing to sign the bill into law. In a press release issued by end-of-life choice advocacy group...(read more)

Six Ways the 2014 Fiscal Budget May Change Healthcare

Lisa Brzezicki — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:19:00 GMT

(Editor's Note: This guest blog was written by Michael LaMagna.) With all of the talk regarding the sequester and budget cuts, I decided to focus on what the fiscal 2014 budget would mean to the 54 million+ Medicare beneficiaries, if the budget was passed...(read more)

HHS: Affordable Care Act Extended Free Preventive Care to 71M with Private Health Insurance

Lisa Brzezicki — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:17:00 GMT

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today in a press release that about 71 million Americans in private health insurance plans received coverage for at least one free preventive health care service, such as a mammogram...(read more)

Bill Introduced to Improve Advance Care Planning with the Help of EHRs

Lisa Brzezicki — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 12:29:00 GMT

This week, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) introduced The Personalize Your Care Act, bipartisan legislation that will provide Medicare and Medicaid coverage for voluntary consultations about advance-care planning every 5 years or in the event of a...(read more)

HHS Approves Four More States to Run State Partnership Marketplaces

Lisa Brzezicki — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 13:56:00 GMT

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced in an HHS press release that more states are moving forward to implement the healthcare law and establishing Health Insurance Marketplaces. HHS conditionally approved Iowa, Michigan,...(read more)

Healthcare Law Glitch Will Leave Many Without Insurance

Lisa Brzezicki — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:21:00 GMT

(Editor's Note: The guest blog was written by Michael LaMagna.) In somewhat unexpected news, there appears to be a serious crack in the healthcare law, one which may "price out" millions of families from healthcare coverage altogether. The issue recently...(read more)

HBMA: Congressional Delay Could Cost Providers Millions

Lisa Brzezicki — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:00:00 GMT

In a recent press release, the Healthcare Billing & Management Association , a non-profit educational resource and advocacy group representing third-party medical billing companies and billing professionals, announced that it is urging Congress to...(read more)

Medicare Settles Lawsuit: Many Will Gain Access to Services

Lisa Brzezicki — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 13:32:00 GMT

(Editor's note: This guest blog was written by Michael LaMagna.) If any readers have patients Medicare refused to pay for skilled nursing, home care or other outpatient benefits because their condition was "stable, chronic, not improving or that the necessary...(read more)

Medicare Premiums to Rise in 2013

Lisa Brzezicki — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 20:07:00 GMT

(Editor's Note: This guest blog was written by Michael LaMagna.) The premium for Medicare Part B, which is the voluntary Medical insurance covering medically necessary doctors' services, preventive care, durable medical equipment, laboratory tests, x-rays,...(read more)

Two More Provisions of ACA Now in Effect

Lisa Brzezicki — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:41:00 GMT

(Editor's Note: This guest blog was written by Michael LaMagna.) As of Oct.1, 2012, two very important provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) went into effect, which will significantly impact hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The two provisions...(read more)

Projected Costs of Health Care Law Changing

Lisa Brzezicki — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 19:30:00 GMT

(Editor's Note: This blog was written by Michael LaMagna, a partner at Timins & LaMagna, LLP) The Congressional Business Office (CBO) reports that in 2016, which is when the 2010 health care law becomes fully in effect, 2% of Americans, or roughly...(read more)

Preventing Healthcare Fraud

Lisa Brzezicki — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 16:01:00 GMT

According to the Health and Human Services (HHS), HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder announced the launch of a ground-breaking partnership among the federal government, State officials, several leading private health insurance...(read more)

Healthcare Law Provides Rebates, Saves Consumers Over $1 Billion

Lisa Brzezicki — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 19:00:00 GMT

Earlier today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that 12.8 million Americans will benefit from $1.1 billion in rebates from insurance companies this summer, because of the Affordable Care Act's 80/20 rule, also known...(read more)

The Trouble With Metadata & Health Privacy

Lisa Brzezicki — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:48:00 GMT

(Editor's note: This blog was written by ADVANCE editorial intern Rebecca Hepp.) Advances in technology over the past decade have raised serious concerns for patient privacy, an issue that sparked an intense panel discussion at the Second International...(read more)

Pharma Industry Persuaded to Embrace Healthcare Law

Lisa Brzezicki — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 19:30:00 GMT

(Editor's Note: This guest blog was written by Michael LaMagna.) In a rare glimpse into political backdoor dealing, emails were released this last week revealing exactly how the White House was able to convince the pharmaceutical industry to embrace the...(read more)