International Business News - Medicare http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Shares of auditing company PRG-Schultz International Inc. plummeted Monday after the company said it failed to win an auditing contract from the federal Medicare program. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081006/prg-schultz-plunges-on-rejected-medicare-contract.htm Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:28:02 EDT Managed care provider Cigna Corp. will add 15 more states to its market for individual Medicare Advantage plans next year as part of a push to grow its senior business. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081001/cigna-adds-more-states-for-medicare-advantage.htm Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:45:47 EDT Seniors who switch between low-cost generic drugs and the original products based on who's footing the bill are likely driving up the cost of the government's Medicare drug plan, according to a new study. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080925/study-seniors-not-quite-embracing-generic-drugs.htm Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:24:40 EDT The government paid more than $1 billion in questionable Medicare claims for medical supplies that showed little relation to a patient's condition, including blood glucose strips for sexual impotence and special diabetic shoes for leg amputees, congressional investigators say. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080924/probe-medicare-paid-billions-in-suspect-claims.htm Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:57:55 EDT The government paid more than $1 billion in questionable Medicare claims for medical supplies that showed little relation to a patient's condition, including blood glucose strips for sexual impotence and special diabetic shoes for leg amputees, congressional investigators say. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080923/probe-medicare-paid-billions-in-suspect-claims.htm Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:02:38 EDT A medical supplier was convicted of fraudulently billing Medicare more than $1.1 million for wheelchairs that were forced on elderly people who did not need them. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080923/los-angeles-medical-supplier-convicted-of-fraud.htm Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:50:42 EDT The monthly premium for the vast majority of the elderly and disabled participating in Medicare will hold steady at $96.40 next year. It's the first time since 2000 that the charge for health coverage is not increasing. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080919/no-rise-in-monthly-medicare-premiums-for-2009.htm Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:22:32 EDT Medicare issued new rules Monday that restrict insurance agents' contact with the elderly and disabled when selling prescription drug plans and more comprehensive health coverage called Medicare Advantage. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080915/medicare-rules-ban-cold-calling-by-insurers.htm Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:47:31 EDT Humana Inc. said Wednesday it expects to lose 308,000 Medicare and Medicaid prescription drug members after raising its price, and Wall Street applauded the move--and said another health insurer could follow suit. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080910/analysts-say-unitedhealth-may-raise-prices.htm Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:52:49 EDT About 85 percent of the marketing materials that private insurers use for their prescription drug plans fail to meet all of Medicare's guidelines for those products, federal auditors said Thursday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080905/auditors-drug-marketing-falls-short-of-guidelines.htm Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:14:07 EDT About 85 percent of the marketing materials that private insurers use for their prescription drug plans fail to meet all of Medicare's guidelines for those products, federal auditors said Thursday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080904/auditors-drug-marketing-falls-short.htm Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:34:10 EDT Federal appeals judges say a lawsuit brought by seven Alabama Medicare patients who claimed they bought into a coverage plan that was misrepresented to them belongs in state court. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080827/federal-panel-say-ala-suit-belongs-in-state-court.htm Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:19:56 EDT A review of Medicare payments to suppliers of wheelchairs, oxygen machines and other medical equipment showed nearly three in 10 were made in error--about four times the rate previously cited by the federal government, investigators said Monday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080825/payment-errors-greater-than-projected-for-medicare.htm Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:53:59 EDT Nearly three years into the Medicare drug benefit, federal officials have yet to ensure that private drug plans enacted programs to deter fraud and abuse, government investigators say. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080822/audits-of-medicare-drug-plans-lacking.htm Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:33:32 EDT Many people in Medicare with diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions stop taking their medicine when faced with picking up the entire cost of their prescriptions, researchers say. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080821/insurance-gap-leads-some-elderly-to-forgo-medicine.htm Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:01:01 EDT The typical Medicare beneficiary can expect to see about a $3 increase in their monthly premiums for prescription drug coverage in 2009, federal officials said Thursday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080814/medicare-drug-premiums-to-go-up-about-12-percent.htm Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:40:51 EDT A former medical supply executive has been sentenced to almost six years in prison for Medicare fraud. U.S. District Judge Charles A. Pannell also ordered 44-year-old Angela D. Isley of Atlanta Monday to pay restitution of $703,814 and a $125,000 fine. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080804/ga-woman-gets-almost-6-years-in-medicare-fraud.htm Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:27:45 EDT The government is putting millions of Medicare dollars at risk by authorizing fictitious sellers of wheelchairs, prosthetics and other medical supplies to submit reimbursement claims with only limited review, congressional investigators say. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080804/lax-oversight-risks-millions-of-medicare-dollars.htm Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:20:35 EDT The government is putting millions of Medicare dollars at risk by authorizing fictitious sellers of wheelchairs, prosthetics and other medical supplies to submit reimbursement claims with only limited review, congressional investigators say. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080803/lax-oversight-risks-millions-of-medicare-dollars.htm Sun, 03 Aug 2008 19:44:24 EDT The federal government will add two preventable conditions to Medicare's do-not-pay list for hospitals, a much smaller number than it had been contemplating. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080731/medicare-adds-to-do-not-pay-list.htm Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:59:05 EDT