Under the Medicare post-acute-care (PAC) transfer policy, acute-care hospitals are reimbursed under a per-diem formula whenever beneficiaries are discharged from selected diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) to a skilled nursing facility, home health care, or a prospective payment system (PPS)-excluded facility. Total per-diem payments are below the…

In response to a request from the chairman of the Congressional Select Committee on Aging, the General Accounting Office (GAO) investigated the potential effects of legislative proposals to provide catastrophic coverage to Medicare beneficiaries on beneficiaries' out-of-pocket health care expenses. The GAO reviewed GAO and other reports to…

In this Gerontological Society of America-sponsored Congressional Briefing Seminar, authorities from several disciplines summarize history, rationale, strengths, weaknesses, and future challenges of Medicare program. In current arena of health care reform, role of Medicare is far from certain, and it is crucial to understand and confront multitude…

Health care of the 21st century is undergoing major changes due to a myriad of social factors affecting every level of society. From financial desperation due to the high cost of health care to the increased awareness of a generation asking for better services, the importance of patient satisfaction is paramount. The Centers for Medicare and…

Decades of conservative attempts to scale back Social Security and Medicare, by limiting the program's universality through means testing and drastic benefit cuts, have failed. Thus, after numerous unsuccessful attempts at dismantling the U.S.'s universal old-age welfare state, or even meaningfully restraining its growth, conservative critics have…

The Medicare Catastrophic Loss Prevention Act of 1987, a bill which would protect Medicare beneficiaries from catastrophic expenses associated with covered Medicare services is reported on in this document from the Senate Committee on Finance. The report opens with the Committee's recommendations that the bill pass as amended. The background and…

Gives reasons why Medicare cannot provide financial support for needs of teaching hospitals over and above payments for those health services specified in the legislation. Speech delivered at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges, Houston, Texas, November 1, 1968. (WM)

The tailoring of grants-in-aid to wage levels in the localities which receive them enjoys growing popularity among federal policymakers; two ongoing programs illustrate the flexibility of this technique. The article describes the procedures currently used to index the CETA and Medicare programs and their data source, the ES-202 system. (CT)

Surveyed recent enrollees (n=174) in Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Medicare coverage. Respondents were younger, healthier, and had more education than the general 65+ population; learned about HMOs from family and friends; and joined HMOs because of accessibility and coverage. Expectations about HMO care coverage were very high, raising…

The federal government invests significantly in medical education through various programs to help ensure that the anticipated supply of new physicians meets the nation's health care needs. Medicare, the federal health care program for elderly and certain disabled people, subsidizes training for medical school graduates in hospitals and other…

The goals of this study were to evaluate the accuracy of nurses' predictions of rehabilitation potential in older adults admitted to inpatient rehabilitation facilities and to ascertain whether the addition of a measure of executive cognitive function would enhance predictive accuracy. Secondary analysis was performed on prospective data collected…

This document presents witnesses' testimonies and prepared statements from two of three Senate hearings called to examine budget issues affecting the Medicare, Medicaid, and Maternal and Child Health Block Grant programs, including changes in the Medicare program necessary to reduce spending in accordance with the budget resolution and expansions…

Discusses how psychologists have established themselves as integral health care providers in rehabilitation. Discusses how psychologists and the psychological associations have failed to recognize the importance of public policy for the practice of psychology. Explores the role of Medicare, and the effects of the inclusion of psychologists in…

This document contains witness testimonies and prepared statements from the Congressional hearing called to examine problems in the partnership of Medicare and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO's). Opening statements are included from committee chairman Claude Pepper and from Representative Lawrence J. Smith. Two panels of witnesses address…

At the request of Senator William Roth, Jr., the General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed Medicare and Medicaid fraud investigations that agency inspectors general referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution to identify characteristics of alleged fraud against the government and to determine actions taken against those caught defrauding…