A study comparing the stroke risk for atrial fibrillation patients treated with Boston Scientific‘s (NYSE:BSX) Watchman device with the anticoagulant drug warfarin and non-warfarin oral anticoagulants found Watchman to be more cost-effective than its counterparts. Watchman is a catheter-delivered cardiac implant designed to close off the left atrial appendage, to prevent blood clots from forming there that could […]
Reimbursement
Report: Medicare proposal would broaden coverage for Boston Scientific’s Watchman
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are reportedly considering broadening the coverage for Boston Scientific‘s (NYSE:BSX) Watchman anti-stroke device, according to an unidentified official with the federal health insurer. Leerink Partners analyst Danielle Antalffy, citing a Bloomberg report, wrote today that the CMS official “clarified that CMS is proposing to pay for Watchman for a subset […]
Analysts: Worst case unlikely in Medicare call on Boston Scientific’s Watchman anti-stroke device
The worst-case Medicare reimbursement scenario for Boston Scientific‘s (NYSE:BSX) Watchman anti-stroke device is unlikely to play out, according to a pair of analysts. Boston Scientific shares took a hit earlier this month after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed to limit coverage for the Watchman device, a transcatheter implant designed to seal off the left atrial appendage to […]
Stryker CEO unfazed by Medicare bundling plan
Stryker (NYSE:SYK) CEO Kevin Lobo isn’t fazed by a proposal Medicare unveiled earlier this month that would bundle reimbursement payments for hip and knee replacement procedures. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said July 9 that its 5-year “Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement” program would involve more than 800 hospitals in 75 geographic areas, bundling payments for […]
Bundled payments provider Remedy Partners raises $50m
Remedy Partners said today that it raised $50 million from Bain Capital Ventures for its bundled payments service for healthcare insurers. Darien, Conn.-based Remedy helps insurers create and manage bundled service programs, in which a fixed price is paid for healthcare services over a period of time, known as an “episode of care.” The Affordable […]
Medicare proposes bundled hip, knee payments
Medicare yesterday proposed to bundle reimbursement payments for hip and knee replacement procedures, saying it wants to “hold hospitals accountable for the quality of care they deliver to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries.” The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said its 5-year “Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement” program would involve more than 800 hospitals in 75 geographic areas, bundling payments […]
Feds arrest 243 in $712m Medicare fraud sting
(Reuters) — The U.S. Justice Dept. said yesterday that 243 people were arrested across the country, charged with submitting fake billing for Medicare, a government healthcare program, that totaled $712 million. Attorney General Loretta Lynch described the arrests as the largest criminal healthcare fraud takedown in the history of the Justice Dept. Those arrested included 46 doctors, nurses […]
Medicare paid doctors $90B in 2013, up 17%
(Reuters) — Medicare paid physicians $90 billion in 2013, up 17% from $77 billion in 2012, U.S. healthcare officials reported today. Physician payments accounted for less than ⅕ of Medicare’s 2013 net outlays of $492 billion, which rose 5.6% from $466 billion in 2012. Payments to hospitals for the top 100 inpatient stays cost Medicare […]
ACOs: Patience, please
Medicare: Best practices don’t ensure coverage for Medtronic’s new pacemaker
Is Medicare unsafe for Medtronic’s MRI-safe pacemaker?
Medtronic announced February 8 FDA approval of the Revo MRI SureScan pacing system, described as “the first and only pacemaker in the U.S. specifically designed for use in an Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) environment.” In describing the impact of the new device, Medtronic estimated that 200,000 patients annually had to forego otherwise clinically appropriate MRIs because of the presence of a pacemaker.