The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services-CMS (formerly the Health Care Financing Administration-HFCA)
(11/6/07)- Lawmakers in Ohio finally have repealed the law that made it the only state that reduces unemployment payments to people over 62 by the full amount of their Social Security benefits. States began to abolish or reduce the deduction of the benefits after the mid-1980s, when Congress amended a law that had required it.
Forty states no longer deduct any percentage of Social Security benefits, and nine states deduct 50%, according to the Department of Labor. The cost to Ohio is estimated at about $25 million annually and will be covered by the state's unemployment funds.
(12/31/04)- President Bush said that he will nominate Michael O. Leavitt, a former three-term governor of Utah to be secretary of health and human services replacing Tommy G. Thompson. Mr. Leavitt is the present administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. As secretary, Mr. Leavitt would supervise the CMS, which oversees the Medicare and Medicaid programs for the elderly, the disabled and the poor.
As chairman of the National Governors Association in 1999 and 2000 he sought more authority for the states to revamp Medicaid and welfare programs. The department spent over $543 billion last year compared to the $8.3 billion that was spent by the EPA. There are over 60,000 employees in the department versus the approximately 18,000 employees in the EPA. Other agencies that are in the realm of the Health and Human Services domain are the National Institute of Health, the FDA and the CDC. Mr. Leavitt is 53-yeaqrs of age.
One of the biggest problem areas now faced by the department is the fact that it is now estimated that there are over 43 million Americans without health insurance as against the estimated 39.8 million in 2000.
(7/19/04)- The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CMS runs the Medicare and Medicaid programs. It provides health insurance for over81 million Americans through Medicare, Medicaid and Child Health. As their web site states.... CMS also performs a number of quality-focused activities, including regulation of laboratory testing (CLIA), surveys and certification, development of coverage policies, and quality-of-care improvement.
The CMS conducts studies of amongst other things, projections of spending for national healthcare. These projections are quite important in evaluating estimates of future costs for Medicare and private health. In their just released study the projections call for a slower increase in spending for the next ten years than had previously been projected. The rate of annual growth in spending for the decade from 1997-2007 is expected to slow to 6.5%, as opposed to the 7% growth figure projected last year. Medicare spending is projected to grow just 4.5% a year over the 1997-2000 period, compared to the 5.1% figure projected last year. Healthcare spending in 1997 (the most recent year for which figures are available) cost $1.1 trillion, and is expected to double by the year 2008. Dr. Mark B. McClellan is the new administrator for the CMS after heading the FDA.
The Health Resources and Services Administration and the CMS jointly run the Children's Health Insurance Program, which covers approximately 11 million uninsured children. The HCFA regulates all laboratory testing (except research) performed on humans in the United States. The CMS and the Departments of Labor and Treasury oversee the health insurance coverage for all Americans.
The CMS:
Together with other federal departments, and state and local governments, the CMS takes action against those who commit fraud and guarantees security for the Medicare, Medicaid and Child Health Insurance Programs. It is also responsible for quality assessment and performance improvement of the organizations under its purview.
It is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. and has 10 regional offices.
The CMS runs Medicare which covers over 44 million Americans at a cost of over $240 billion annually. It also oversees Medicaid the health insurance program for low-income individuals. There are broad federal requirements for Medicaid, but states have a good deal of flexibility to design their own programs. The states may:
CMS along with the Health Resources Services Administration runs the Children's Health Insurance Program, which became available on October 1, 1997. This program will provide federal matching funds over 5 years to help states expand health care coverage to as many as 5 million of the nation's uninsured children. States set eligibility and coverage requirements following broad federal guidelines. Recipients in all states must have low incomes, be otherwise ineligible for Medicaid, and be uninsured. Application for this program is made at the state welfare office.
By Allan Rubin
updated November 6, 2007
http://www.therubins.com
To e-mail: hrubin12@nyc.rr.com
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