Healthcare Financial News

HHS has announced that the administration will rescind all or part of three Medicaid regulations that were previously issued and delay the enforcement of a fourth regulation. Each of these rules, in whole or in part, had been subject to Congressional moratoria set to expire on July 1, 2009. By this action, CMS and HHS are:

• Rescinding a rule that would have limited the outpatient hospital and clinic service benefit for Medicaid beneficiaries to the scope of services recognized as an outpatient hospital service under Medicare.
• Rescinding provisions of an interim final rule which would have restricted beneficiary access to case management services.
• Rescinding a final rule that would have eliminated reimbursement for school-based administrative costs and costs of transportation to and from schools.
• Delaying until June 30, 2010, the enforcement of portions of a regulation that clarified limitations on healthcare-related tax programs so that CMS could determine whether states need additional clarification or guidance. CMS may also further review the potential impact of the regulation, and give additional consideration to alternative approaches.

Read the CMS press release.

HHS has released a series of concise reports on healthcare cost and quality at the state level that are intended to underscore the need for health reform. Data available in the reports include the increase in family health insurance premiums since 2000, percentage of state residents without health insurance, changes in the percentage of state residents with employer-sponsored coverage, and overall quality ratings for health care in each state.

Increases in physicians’ overall compensation in both primary and specialty care did not keep up with inflation in 2008, according to the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2009 Report Based on 2008 Data. Physicians in primary care reported a 2 percent increase (-1.73 percent adjusted for inflation) to a median of $186,044. Specialists’ compensation rose 2.19 percent (-1.59 percent when adjusted for inflation) to a median of $339,738. Inflation in 2008 amounted to a 3.8 percent increase in the U.S. Consumer Price Index. Physicians in internal medicine fared the worst among their primary care counterparts, posting an increase of less than 1 percent in compensation in 2008 (-3.37 percent with inflation considered). Among specialists, emergency medicine physicians, dermatologists, and general surgeons all reported flat salaries before inflation was factored in, with declines of up to -3.2 percent after inflation. Gastroenterology, up 7.38 percent, and pulmonary medicine, up 6.65 percent, were among the few specialties that posted moderate gains in compensation in 2008.

Read the press release.