Opioid‐limiting legislation and prescribing habits of otolaryngologists among Medicare beneficiaries

Capitation among Medicare beneficiaries.

CONTEXT The Medicare program has promoted capitation as a way to contain costs. About 15% of Medicare beneficiaries nationwide are currently under capitation, but tremendous regional variation exists. PRACTICE PATTERN EXAMINED The proportion of Medicare beneficiaries who have enrolled in risk-contract plans in individual states and in the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. ...

Repeat testing among Medicare beneficiaries.

BACKGROUND Although the tendency to repeat examinations is a major determinant of the capacity to serve new patients and of the ability to contain health care costs, little research has described the patterns observed in actual practice. METHODS We investigated patterns of repeat testing in a longitudinal study of a 5% random sample of Medicare beneficiaries, restricted to 743,478 fee-for-ser...

How health reform legislation will affect Medicare beneficiaries.

Despite criticism that health reform legislation will result in cuts to Medicare, the bills passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as President Obama's proposal, contain provisions that would strengthen the program by reducing costs for prescription drugs, expanding coverage for preventive care, providing more help for low-income beneficiaries, and supporting accessible,...

Medicare prescription drug legislation: how would it affect beneficiaries?

T he probability that Medicare reform legislation will pass in 2003 seems as volatile as the stock market. After rapid passage of bills in the Senate and House in June, hopes that differences would be quickly reconciled have given way to concerns about the tough issues that still need to be resolved. Clearly, the commitment of $400 billion for prescription drug coverage would be a major step fo...

Medicare Prescription Drug Legislation: What It Means for Rural Beneficiaries