WASHINGTON, DC – President Obama’s State of the Union address mentioned “health” eight times among the speech’s more than 6,800 words. Instead of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), immigration and the economy took the spotlight. Obama spoke positively of the ACA, and said the following about health care finances, “…we did all this while adding years to Medicare’s finances, keeping Medicare premiums flat, and lowering prescription costs for millions of seniors.”
“No, we shouldn’t go back to the way things were, but this law is not working. Republicans believe health care choices should be yours, not the government’s,” said McMorris Rodgers, chair of the House Republican Conference in the Republican response. “And that whether you’re a boy with Down syndrome or a woman with breast cancer…you can find coverage and a doctor who will treat you.”
AAHomecare Preps for Audit Backlog Meeting
WASHINGTON, DC – Tom Ryan (pictured), president and CEO of AAHomecare, and Jay Witter, VP of government affairs, have registered to attend the Feb 12 Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals meeting to discuss their recent decision to stop assigning provider claims to administrative law judges. AAHomecare sent a letter of protest to Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last Wednesday.
Community Pharmacies Get High Marks
ALEXANDRIA, VA – According to the National Community Pharmacists Association, readers of Consumer Reports magazine gave independent community pharmacies high marks for overall customer satisfaction and the best ratings of any pharmacy provider in key categories such as “speed and accuracy”; “courtesy and helpfulness”; and “pharmacists’ knowledge,” according to the publication’s pharmacy survey, featured in the March 2014 issue of the magazine.