HomeCare Editors’ Top 5: Week of April 6

Senate has New Deadline to Avoid Doctors’ Medicare Cuts

Congress will get a little extra time to prevent a threatened 21 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors. Technically, the cut was to take effect Wednesday. But the Department of Health and Human Services said it will hold off processing claims at the lower rate until April 15. (The Associated Press)

US Top Court Says Medical Providers Can’t Sue States Over Medicaid Funding

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in a case from Idaho that private medical providers that deliver residential care services cannot sue a state in try to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates to deal with rising medical costs. The justices, on a 5-4 vote, ruled in favor of the state of Idaho, which asserted that medical providers have no legal recourse to sue. The ruling is a loss for the healthcare industry, with trade groups and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce backing the providers in the case. (Lawrence Hurley/ Reuters)

Florida Senators Meet With Feds Over Health Care Money

Amid growing budget discord that could derail this year’s session of the Florida Legislature, Senate President Andy Gardiner dispatched two top Republican senators to Washington to talk with federal officials about more than $1 billion in health care grants the state could soon lose. Gardiner, an Orlando Republican who works for a hospital, took the unusual step even as top officials with the administration of Gov. Rick Scott are directly negotiating with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Obama administration. (Gary Fineout/The Associated Press)

House Provision Offers Doctors More Protection Against Malpractice Suits

A little-noticed provision of a bill passed by the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support would provide doctors new protections against medical malpractice lawsuits. The bill, which requires the government to measure the quality of care that doctors provide and rate their performance on a scale of zero to 100, protects doctors by stipulating that the quality-of-care standards used in federal health program—Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act—cannot be used in malpractice cases. (Robert Pear/ The New York Times)

Demand Grows for Care Coordinators

Dr. Grace Chen’s frail and elderly patients can be bewildered by the automated phone directories of their healthcare providers and may give up before getting through for help. Understanding their new medications can overwhelm them. And they may miss medical appointments because they lack transportation. Their confusion and anxiety can end with a trip to the emergency department. Chen, a geriatrician at the UCLA Health System in Los Angeles, previously worked with clerical assistants to handle her patients’ questions and help them with their healthcare logistics. That often took a lot of their time each week. (Melanie Evans/Modern Healthcare)