Language Impairment Following Stroke Adds Thousands To Medical Costs
Stroke-related language impairment adds about $1, 703 per patient to medical costs the first year after stroke, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers retrospectively examined the records of 3, 200 South Carolina Medicare patients who had ischemic strokes in 2004 and found: Twelve percent (398 patients) had aphasia or language impairment. Medicare payments for those with aphasia averaged $20, 734 per patient vs. $18, 683 for those without it - an 8.
Evaluating The Factors Underlying Medicare Decisions On Coverage Of Medical Technology
A new study by researchers at Tufts Medical Center provides unique insight into factors that affect Medicare decisions on whether to pay for medical technologies. The study, published online by the journal Medical Care, underscores that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has incorporated evidence-based medicine into its decision making, highlighting the importance of the strength and quality of the supporting clinical evidence. Further, the research provides important insight into the "reasonable and necessary" criteria, illustrating the significance of the availability of alternative therapies, while suggesting that CMS accounts for value in coverage decisions.
How To Find Suitable Private Health Insurance
Private health insurance is the main source of health coverage for the majority of people in the United States. Approximately 58% of all Americans have private health care coverage. For elderly citizens and eligible children and families from low-income households, public programs are the primary source of health cover. Public programs include Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP. TRICARE and the Veterans programs also provide some coverage. If you are not covered by a publicly funded program, or if your coverage is only partial, you will need to have some kind of private health insurance.