Archive for March, 2014
Training bystander on CPR triples survival rates of victims
Date: March 31st, 2014
The desire to train bystanders in Denmark on CPR procedures has bore fruits as the survival rates have tripled one year after the inception of the program.
U.S hospitals indicate an improvement in cardiac arrest survival rates
Date: March 22nd, 2014
Why more people are surviving cardiac arrest
When giving their findings, the researchers weren’t sure of reasons behind this improvement.
CPR often causes broken bones
Date: March 21st, 2014
When giving their research findings, the researchers also said that some had a high risk of suffering broken bones than others.
Final Medicaid beneficiary protection rules published
Date: March 20th, 2014
In this regulations which HCFA will enforce are going to become effective 90 days after being published and will also be an implementation of 1997 BBA provisions.
Laughter boosts antibodies production and activates production cells in the body
Date: March 19th, 2014
Mirthful or joyous laughter is considered to a eustress or a positive stress which involves very complicated activities in the brain that can have a positive impact on your overall health.
A proposal to limit Medicaid allowance on emergency care rejected by democrats
Date: March 18th, 2014
On Jan. 17, democratic lawmakers ‘blasted’ a decision by Bush administration, which could have limited emergency services for the Medicaid beneficiaries, as reported by the Wall Street. According to a letter sent by Bush administration to the state Medicaid directors, Bush administration was saying that the managed care organizations could restrict and limit emergency service coverage for Medicaid beneficiaries. This decision removes the previous restrictions that were established back in 1997 by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, in the rules issued in January 2001 by the Clinton administration and in June 2002 by Bush administration.
According to the 1997 law, a state can require that Medicaid beneficiaries enroll either in the HMOs or any other MCO. But the law requires that MCOs must provide emergency service coverage in a case which a ‘prudent layperson’ could consider as an emergency. In addition, the same law also allows the Medicaid beneficiaries who are enrolled in the MCO to access emergency services at the most nearest provider immediately. But the administration declined that a state could place limitations on emergency service coverage for facilitating primary health care and preventive health care to be used for appropriately.
Sex democratic lawmakers oppose the decision
According to Rom Scully, CMS administrator, it is necessary for states to be flexible in setting reasonable limits on emergency room visits as a way of encouraging patients to use emergency rooms more appropriately. In response to this, six lawmakers from the democratic side sent a letter to Tommy Thompson, who is the HHS Secretary arguing that this decision could cause an ‘exorbitant burden’ on most facilities in addition to forcing most Americans to filing for bankruptcy.
In their argument, the democratic also said that the decision was a violation of the 1997 law provisions. Rep. John Dingell also added his voice on the issue saying that this decision would also be a burden to hospitals. The president of American College of Emergency Physicians, George Molzen also said that emergency departments are currently at a breaking point. The move that the Bush administration was about to take would highly likely erode hospitals ability to offer lifesaving care. According to a letter sent to Thompson separately, Senator Bob Graham was quick to note that such a decision could unravel the protections on patients.
Louisiana response
In other related news, Picayune of New Orleans Times reported that despite this decision reached at by the Bush administration, Louisiana was not planning to limit visits to the emergency room for the Medicaid beneficiaries. David Hood, the state health secretary said that they were considering other proposals of controlling costs first before moving to offer limitations on reimbursements offered by Medicaid for emergency services. He said that such a limit on ER is like a metax approach and they would like first to consider other approaches. In case these new approaches do not offer a better solution, they would consider the decision by Bush administration.
Policy allowing emergency care coverage limits for Medicaid managed care
Date: March 17th, 2014
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the Bush administration sent a letter to the state Medicaid directors indicating that the managed care
Examination of medical malpractice developments in five states
Date: March 16th, 2014
Arizona drops a bill consideration
On Monday, the state dropped a consideration on a bill which could have capped the noneconomic damages resulting from malpractice lawsuits,