Medicare

In the Region   PolyMedix files for bankruptcy   PolyMedix Inc. , a small biotech company in Radnor, has sought Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission . In January, PolyMedix replaced its chief executive officer, Nicholas Landekic, with chief financial officer Edward F. Smith as interim CEO. Smith resigned Monday, according to the filing. A company spokeswoman did not return a call or e-mail. With its most advanced drug only in stage two (of three)

A South Jersey doctor will be sentenced in July for overbilling Medicare for home visits with seniors. Lori Reaves, founder and owner of Visiting Physicians of South Jersey in Hammonton, charged Medicare for an unspecified number of 2.5-hour house calls even though she typically spent only 30 to 45 minutes with the patients, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Reaves, 52, of Waterford Works, pleaded guilty last Thursday in Trenton. The fraudulent visits, costing $511,068, occurred from 2008 through Oct. 14, 2011, according to a court document.

By Charles Lane As I reported in January, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal and others are suing to gain detailed access to Medicare billing records through the Freedom of Information Act. Off-limits to the public since 1979, such data could hold the key to billions of dollars in savings, once journalists armed with modern technology sift through it for evidence of waste, fraud, and abuse. Doctors are fighting the lawsuit, claiming that their taxpayer-funded earnings are none of the public's business.

By Rebecca Nurick Perpetrators of Medicare and Medicaid fraud are clever and creative - and often quite successful: Every year, scams cost taxpayers about $65 billion. In recent years, the federal government has invested in programs to prevent Medicare fraud, and to make the criminals who commit it pay, both in fines and jail time. In particular, the Affordable Care Act will provide increased resources to fight these crimes. Beefed-up task forces have caught thieves around the country who have engaged in identity theft, billed for services not provided, or even performed unnecessary medical procedures.

WASHINGTON - An influential group of business CEOs is pushing a plan to gradually increase the full retirement age to 70 for both Social Security and Medicare and to partially privatize the health insurance program for older Americans. The Business Roundtable's plan would protect those 55 and older from cuts, but younger workers would face significant changes. The plan presented Wednesday would result in smaller annual benefit increases for all Social Security recipients. Initial benefits for wealthy retirees would also be smaller.

The budget package that Congress passed Tuesday to avert widespread tax increases and spending cuts blocked a 26.5 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors, but hospitals and other health-care providers are paying for it. Even so, the head of a local hospital group was glad that the new law prevented the reduction in doctor payments linked to a 1997 law. "That's becoming increasingly relevant for hospitals" as they employ more physicians, said...

WASHINGTON - Signaling new movement in fiscal cliff talks, House Speaker John A. Boehner has proposed raising the top rate for earners making more than $1 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said. President Obama, who wants higher top rates for households earning more than $250,000, has not accepted the offer, this person said. The proposal, however, indicated progress in talks that had appeared stalled. The person would only discuss the plan on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations.

WASHINGTON - President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met Sunday at the White House to discuss the ongoing negotiations over the impending "fiscal cliff," the first meeting between just the two leaders since Election Day. Spokesmen for both Obama and Boehner said they agreed to not release details of the conversation, but emphasized that the lines of communication remained open. The meeting comes as the White House and Congress try to break an impasse over finding a way to stop a combination of automatic tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to kick in at the beginning of next year.

WASHINGTON - Americans are living longer, and Republicans want to raise the Medicare eligibility age as part of any deal to reduce the government's deficits. But what sounds like a prudent sacrifice for an aging society that must watch its budget could have some surprising consequences, including higher premiums for people on Medicare. Unlike tax hikes, which spawn partisan divisions, increasing the Medicare age could help ease a budget compromise because President Obama has previously been willing to consider it. AARP, the seniors' lobby, is already running ads knocking down the idea as a quick fix that would cause long-term problems.

SOCIAL SECURITY, Medicare, and Medicaid are the foundations for the well-being of scores of millions of middle- and low-income Americans. Without Social Security, 14 million more low-income Americans would be living in poverty. Because of Medicare, 33 million older people live longer, have access to quality care, and are not driven into poverty by rapidly rising health-care costs. Medicaid is a health-care boon to Americans not yet eligible for Medicare, which covers some 60 million Americans.