CongressDaily: The Senate Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee approved a draft funding bill Tuesday for HHS, "moving a bill that would provide $170 billion in discretionary spending to related federal agencies, nearly $1 billion under the president's request...

News outlets report on state budget gaps and lobbying for extra Medicaid funds from the federal government. Bloomberg: "U.S. state governments project revenue will climb in the current fiscal year after they raised taxes and cut spending to close budget gaps of $84 billion, a report from the National Conference of State Legislatures found...

AARP on Tuesday "threw its influence" behind a number of plans to reduce Medicare fraud, including the bipartisan Medicare Fraud Enforcement and Prevention Act, which would increase penalties on nabbed fraudsters and supply more claims data to enforcers, The Hill reports...

The New York Times: "As states face severe budget shortfalls, many have cut home-care services for the elderly or the disabled, programs that have been shown to save states money in the long run because they keep people out of nursing homes...

Reuters: "The Medicare drug benefit may be helping more older Americans with heart failure get the medications recommended for controlling the disease, a new study finds...

Bloomberg Businessweek: "Elderly patients caught between U.S. hospitals and Medicare auditors pushing to cut costs are increasingly facing tens of thousands of dollars in unexpected medical bills. ...

Researchers at Brown University have found that the length of an average Medicare-certified hospice stay in a nursing home has doubled during the last 10 years. The study, which will appear in the August issue of The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, evaluated hospice use in U.S. nursing homes between 1999 and 2006. It found the typical treatment time has increased from 46 to 93 days...

The New York Times Prescriptions Blog: "The Obama administration is sending $250 checks to more than 300,000 older Americans who paid higher drug costs in the Medicare coverage gap known as the 'doughnut hole,' officials announced Thursday. The one-time, tax-free checks are the first tangible benefit of the health care package that became law this year...

The Hill reports that Republicans are charging the Obama administration with evading questions on Dr. Donald Berwick's ties to the health care industry. President Barack Obama used a recess appointment this week to install Berwick as head of the agency that oversees Medicare and Medicaid after key Republicans had raised concerns about Berwick's views. "The memo from a staffer for Sen...

Seniors and people with disabilities who rely on home medical equipment and services will pay a steep price under Medicare's controversial and mislabeled "competitive" bidding program for durable medical equipment. The U.S...