National NewsWire

Noteworthy

CMS to Conduct Smoking-Cessation Pilot: The Baltimore-based Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will conduct a pilot program in seven states — Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma and Wyoming — to test smoking cessation-strategies for older smokers. Although Medicare normally does not cover smoking-cessation therapy, it will cover the therapy for those enrolled in the study. Only people 65 and older who are enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare Part B are eligible to participate. For more information, call (866) 652-3446.

JCAHO Panel Requests Comments on Asthma-Care Standards: The Disease-Specific Care Asthma Expert Panel, fielded by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, is requesting review and public comment on its initial set of candidate-standardized measures that address key aspects of asthma care. Providers may review the measures and complete the survey at http://www.jcaho.org/dscc/performance+measures/index.htm.

President Extends Diabetes Research: President Bush signed into law H.R. 5738, extending the Special Diabetes Program, which will provide $1.5 billion for diabetes programs and research, through 2008. The Special Diabetes Program is comprised of two components: Type I research at the National Institutes of Health and diabetes prevention, and treatment programs for American Indians, through the Indian Health Service.

HHS Approves New Hampshire Initiative: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has approved a New Hampshire plan — the first of its kind under the department’s Independence Plus initiative — to give the families of Medicaid-eligible disabled children greater control over the care and services their children receive. According to HHS, the New Hampshire waiver will provide help in coordinating and providing services such as personal care, respite care, and home and vehicle modifications for eligible children. Families will be involved in planning service delivery and selecting service providers, HHS said.

Legal

Court Denies Coverage Request for age-related eye disease: The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a request by three Medicare beneficiaries to block a CMS action that would deny treatment coverage for an age-related eye disease.

Among other findings, the court determined the Medicare beneficiaries did not demonstrate they would suffer irreparable harm from the decision, because the individuals had received the treatment and had paid for it.

People & Places

AAHomecare Hires Regulatory Affairs Manager: The Alexandria, Va.-based American Association for Homecare has hired Penelope Solis as manager of regulatory affairs. Solis, a recent graduate of Boston University Law School, replaces Shelagh Foster, who currently is a lobbyist with the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

CHAP Names New President: The New York-based Community Health Accreditation Program has named Terry Duncombe president and chief executive officer.

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