Medicare to Pay for More Heart Devices
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Medicare will soon fund implantable  heart devices for thousands more patients, after publication of  a landmark study finding the devices can save more lives, top  agency officials said in a medical journal on Wednesday.
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The nationâs most common cardiac malfunction, once thought harmless, is now treated with costly procedures.
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Between 1996 and 2000, the annual number of Medicare patients who had renal artery interventional procedures, where angioplasty or a stent clears arteries connected to the kidneys, more than doubled.
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WASHINGTON  - Reversing a trend in which  private health plans have been quitting the federal Medicare  program, U.S. officials Wednesday announced that more plans  will join next year.
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NEW YORK  - By delivering a small shock that gets the heart beating regularly again, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator or ICDs can save the lives of patients with heart conditions.
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It will be the first time that high-income beneficiaries will have higher premiums for Medicare coverage.
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People worried about sudden cardiac arrest no longer need a doctor's prescription to buy devices that jump-start the heart.     The Food and Drug Administration for the first time agreed Thursday to let consumers go online and purchase the $2,000 devices for home use...
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More U.S. Medicare beneficiaries  with severe hearing loss could soon receive implantable devices  that help recreate sound, government officials said in a  proposal on Friday.
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In what could be the most expensive decision in Medicare's history, officials say the government has decided to expand coverage of implanted heart-shocking devices for people with weakened hearts.
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Most people will have to pay 5.6 percent more for basic Medicare coverage next year, but more affluent beneficiaries can expect increases as high as 83.2 percent as the federal government for the first time requires wealthier seniors to pay higher premiums, Medicare officials announced today.
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The US government on Tuesday proposed expanding Medicare coverage for costly implanted heart devices, a decision expected to benefit makers Guidant Corp.
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Medicare beneficiaries will have more options for prescription drug coverage in 2007, officials said.
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Medicare said yesterday it intends to pay for counseling for some of the nation&#39;s 4 million older smokers. Medicare beneficiaries who smoke and have smoking
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Sexual performance drugs like Viagra will be covered by Medicare's new prescription benefit beginning next year, along with medications for other conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease, Health and Human Services officials said Tuesday.
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More than 98 percent of US hospitals are now reporting quality-of-care data for treating heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid said on Thursday.
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The standard Medicare premium will rise to $96.40 a month next year, an increase of $2.90 a month. The 3.1 percent increase is the smallest since 1999-2000.
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Medicare patients will have more prescription drug coverage options next year as additional companies offer plans nationwide and many change current offerings, U.S. officials said on Friday.