Medicare wants seniors to repay

Medicare wants the over payments sent back to them. They are being flexible about the repayments though. There are also criminals trying to take advantage by call seniors and asking for bank information.

Operators will be able to answer whether beneficiaries were affected by the glitch. They also can help people arrange to have the repayments withdrawn from their bank account and transferred electronically to the federal government, though this option will require that seniors provide personal banking information to the operator.

Some seniors may have received more than $500. For those who need to pay that money back gradually, people can ask to make up to seven monthly payments. Lawmakers had called on CMS to give seniors plenty of time to give the money back. The same toll-free number should be used for beneficiaries wanting installment plans.

To prevent fraud, CMS asked seniors not to give out any personal information to anybody calling offering help with the reimbursement. Medicare will not call anybody effected by the glitch.

New Glucose Meter from Abbott Diabetes

On March 13, 2006, Abbott Diabetes Care of Alameda, California, announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its FreeStyle Freedom blood glucose-monitoring system for consumer use.

According to Abbott, FreeStyle Freedom measures glucose levels using 0.3 microliters of blood—“the smallest sample size required of any blood glucose-monitoring product on the market.” FreeStyle Freedom also provides results in five seconds and features a large, high-contrast display, making it easy to read and easy to hold.

Medicare coverage of diabetes supplies

Here is an article detailing Medicare's coverage of diabetes testing supplies. Here is the basic breakdown:

Product	For insulin treated patients	For non-insulin treated patients
Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems	1 every 5 years	1 every 5 years
Test Strips	100 per month	100 every 3 months
Lancing Device	1 every 6 months	1 every 6 month
Lancets	100 per month	100 every 3 months
Control Solution	1 every month	1 every month
Batteries	1-2 every year	1-2 every year

Your doctor may recommend that you test more often than the guidelines allow for. In which case you are authorized for that number of tests per day. The doctor will need to give the reasons why more tests are needed.

Pomegranate may benefit diabetes patients

I always make fun of my wife about drinking pomegranate juice, but I guess she will have the last laugh. Click here for the whole article.

Diabetes patients who drank pomegranate juice had a reduced risk for arteriosclerosis and a reduced uptake of "bad" cholesterol, an Israeli study finds.

Technion-Israel Institute of Technology researchers had 20 subjects drink 6 ounces of pomegranate juice per day for three months. The study, published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, found the participants experienced a reduced risk for arteriosclerosis, a condition that leads to arterial wall thickening and hardening. Arteriosclerosis accounts for 80 percent of all deaths among diabetic patients.

The researchers also found that drinking pomegranate juice reduced the uptake of oxidized LDL -- "bad" cholesterol.

Lead researcher Michael Aviram, of the Technion Faculty of Medicine, says that sugars contained in pomegranate juice did not worsen diabetes disease parameters -- including blood sugar levels -- in the patients.

"In most juices, sugars are present in free -- and harmful -- forms," explained Aviram. "In pomegranate juice, however, the sugars are attached to unique antioxidants, which actually make these sugars protective against arteriosclerosis."

Obesity and Medicare spending on chronic diseases like diabetes.

Here is a good article from USA Today about obesity and Medicare spending on chronic diseases like diabetes.

Obesity and certain chronic conditions were major factors driving virtually all Medicare spending growth for the past 15 years, according to a new analysis of Medicare cost and patient data. The rate of obesity among Medicare patients doubled from 1987 to 2002, and spending on those individuals more than doubled, according to economists Kenneth Thorpe and David Howard.
Their study appeared Tuesday on the website of the journal Health Affairs.
"What this study tells us is that we need to aggressively put in place interventions to deal with obesity and chronic disease prevalence among the elderly to control spending," said Thorpe, chairman of the Department of Health Policy Management at Emory University.
In 1987, 11.7% of the Medicare population was considered obese. That number grew to 22.5% of Medicare enrollees by 2002.
Spending on medical care for obese Medicare patients was 9.4% of the federal government program's budget in 1987 but jumped to 24.8% by 2002, according to the analysis.
Physicians also are becoming more aggressive in treating patients who have a cluster of cardiovascular-related risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure or low levels of "good" cholesterol, the study found.
Such treatment patterns are good news for seniors because it means many older men and women are living longer. But more elderly Americans living longer also increases the long-term costs of the Medicare program.
Total Medicare expenditures were $336 billion in 2005 and are projected to increase at a rapid clip as the first wave of the 75 million baby boomers reaches retirement age and Medicare eligibility in 2010.
In the past, most efforts to slow Medicare spending growth focused on cutting payments to hospitals, physicians and other health care providers.
These new research findings suggest policymakers should direct their attention toward programs that encourage healthier lifestyles among seniors and those nearing retirement, Thorpe said.

OneTouch Ultra2 Glucose Meter

The OneTouch Ultra2 Glucose Meter is getting terrific feedback from our Diabetes Supply customers at Totally Diabetes. OneTouch is also rolling out TV commercials featuring Patti LaBelle. I guess she is replacing B.B. King who was the OneTouch Ultra spokesperson.

It really is a great glucose meter. I have heard nothing but positive things about it. The OneTouch Ultra2 uses to same test strips as the Ultra did, which is very convenient. It is also covered by Medicare and private insurance.

Tips For Handling Summer Heat For People With Diabetes

Tips for diabetics from the Joslin Diabetes Center include:

* Keep hydrated.
* Watch for signs of heat exhaustion, especially if you are working or exercising outdoors. People with diabetes and other chronic diseases like heart disease are more susceptible to overheating.
* Check blood glucose levels with diabetes test strips and other diabetes supplies at least four times a day, and more often if you are not feeling well. Remember that heat can cause blood glucose levels to fluctuate.
* Store your blood glucose meter, diabetes test strips and insulin in a cool, dry place.

Diabetes and Obesity

Another good article about diabetes and obsity.

The Department of Health and Human Services says obesity may account for 300,000 deaths a year, making it the second-most-common preventable cause of death after cigarette smoking. It’s been linked to various diseases: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis and some cancers.

Some scientists, including Jeffrey Gordon’s colleagues at Washington University, are trying to see whether the ailments of obesity (especially diabetes and high blood pressure) might be caused not by the added weight per se, but by the associated inflammation.

Comparing diabetes test strips and glucometers

Here is an pretty amazing chart comparing diabetes test strips and glucose meters!! I put it together myself so let me know if you see anything wrong in there.

Testing blood glucose for diabetics

Here is some excellent information for diabetics about testing your blood glucose. It also give some actions to take for insulin and non-insulin diabetes patients.

132 co-sponcers of Medicare Hobson-Tanner Bill

There are now 132 co-sponsors of the Hobson-Tanner Bill. I am finally starting to be optimistic about at least passing this bill. I would prefer getting rid of the competitive bidding all together. Hopefully when Bill Thomas retires this will be on the table as well. Competitive bidding is really a disgrace to american capitalism and is hard to believe Republicans were behind it. I read the Orrin Hatch was going to introduce a similar bill in the Senate. God bless him.

Medicare accreditation for competitive bidding

Today the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that establishes requirements for accreditation of Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers and lays the groundwork for timely implementation of the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program. These new accreditation requirements will result in improved quality DMEPOS items and services for Medicare beneficiaries.

This final rule details the application process for independent accrediting organizations that would apply quality standards for all DMEPOS suppliers, including suppliers that would participate in the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program. CMS expects to publish the quality standards in the near future.

The final rule also codifies a provision of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) that permits CMS to use contractors to assist in the implementation of the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program and describes CMS’ plans for a DMEPOS competitive bidding education and outreach campaign.

To view the press release, go to http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp?Counter=1924 on the CMS website.

To view the display version of the final rule (CMS-1540-F), go to http://www.cms.hhs.gov/inpatientrehabfacpps/downloads/cms_1540f.pdf or http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CompetitiveAcqforDMEPOS/02_regsnotices.asp on the CMS website.

For more information about the Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program, go to http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CompetitiveAcqforDMEPOS/01_overview.asp on the CMS website.

Medicare payment cuts to doctors in doubt

Looks like congress has come to there senses and will not impose medicare cuts on doctors fees.

It will cost billions of dollars to override required cuts in Medicare payments to doctors, but the perennial stopgap move is necessary to ensure that patients receive the health care they need, lawmakers said Tuesday.

A program set up in 1997 to put the brakes on federal Medicare spending sets annual and cumulative spending targets for physician reimbursements. When spending increases exceed economic growth, payments to doctors are supposed to be cut.

Under the system, payments to doctors would have to be cut by 5 percent a year through 2016 to meet program spending targets, according to federal estimates.

That is unlikely to happen. Lawmakers fear that any reduction in payments could add to the record increases in Medicare premiums and drive doctors from the program.

Rep. Michael Ferguson, R-N.J., said the mandated cuts system is "fatally flawed and it's time we start writing its obituary today."