Medicare News

The Biden Administration’s struggles to alleviate supply chain capacity issues appear to be continuing with no end in sight. Part of the issue arises from the Administration’s limited focus on ports and another part arises from Congressional stalemates. Could the much-needed beltway leadership on these issues come in the form of the newly-tapped Maritime Administrator?Biden focuses on ports to address larger issuesThroughout October the President and his Supply Chain Disruptions…

President Donald Trump is seeking what he called a "historic" increase in military spending of more than 9 percent, a huge rise even as the United States has wound down major wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and remains the world's strongest military power. Trump will seek to boost Pentagon spending in the next fiscal year by $54 billion in his first budget proposal and slash the same amount from non-defense spending, including a large reduction in foreign aid, a White House budget official said on Monday. The president does not have the final say on federal spending.

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works celebrated the keel laying of the third and final Zumwalt-class destroyer, future USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002), on January 30. The U.S. Navy named the ship in honor of President Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, credited with enacting major civil rights, education and public welfare legislation, including the Voting Rights Act and the creation of the Head Start Program and Medicare. President Johnson’s daughters, Lynda Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson, are the ship sponsors. A special steel plate containing the initials of the sisters was prepared for the ceremony. Assisted by Timothy Trask, a 30-year Bath Iron Works welder, the sponsors authenticated the laying of the keel by striking welding arcs onto the steel plate.

General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics, announced today that it will continue to support and expand the analytic engine and reporting system for the Arkansas Health Care Payment Improvement Initiative (AHCPII). Arkansas was the first state to implement this type of statewide payment reform initiative that rewards service providers for providing high-quality, cost-effective care under the Medicaid program. Since its inception in 2012, the AHCPII has resulted in healthcare costs being reduced or stabilized in certain cases, along with improvements in appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing and perinatal screenings.

General Dynamics today reported 2014 second-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $646 million, or $1.88 per share on a diluted basis, compared to second-quarter earnings from continuing operations in 2013 of $640 million, or $1.81 per diluted share. Second-quarter 2014 revenues were $7.5 billion. There is a charge in the quarter of $105 million in discontinued operations for the sale of a business within Combat Systems, which results in net earnings for the second quarter of $541 million, or $1.58 fully diluted earnings per share. Company-wide operating margins for the second quarter of 2014 were 12.7 percent, a 40 basis-point improvement when compared to 12.3 percent in second-quarter 2013. Net cash provided by operating activities in the quarter totaled $866 million.

Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center, Chanute, has completed a new accreditation process from Det Norske Veritas Healthcare. By earning accreditation, Neosho Memorial has demonstrated it meets or exceeds patient safety standards (Conditions of Participation or COPs) set forth by the US  Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. DNV’s accreditation program is the only one to integrate the ISO 9001 Quality Management System with the Medicare Conditions of Participation. DNV’s modern accreditation program integrates ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System into the Medicare COPs. “The DNV program is consistent with our long-term commitment to quality and patient safety,” says Dennis E. Franks, chief executive officer of NMRMC. “Ratings can tell you a lot about quality.

General Dynamics (GD) today reported second-quarter 2013 net earnings of $640 million, or $1.81 per share on a diluted basis, compared to 2012 second-quarter net earnings of $634 million, or $1.77 per diluted share. Second-quarter 2013 revenues were $7.9 billion. Company-wide operating margins for the second quarter of 2013 were 12.1%, consistent with second-quarter 2012 margins. Each of the company’s four segments delivered margin expansion over the first quarter of 2013. Net cash provided by operating activities in second-quarter 2013 totaled $579 million. Free cash flow from operations, defined as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures, was $486 million in the quarter. The company repurchased 6.6 million outstanding shares in the second quarter.

Jones Act and LHWCA employers must protect Medicare’s interest or pay the price. It may be boring, but it is important. Read and heed. Attention maritime entities that employ Jones Act Seamen covered by liability insurance, including self-insurance, or land based employees covered by no-fault insurance or any workers’ compensation act:  you MUST protect Medicare interests. These plans are also known as Non-Group Health Plans (NGHP). Failure could mean a fine of $1,000.00 per day per claim or liable to reimburse Medicare for payments made to a claimant.

On February 6, 2013, President Obama traveled to Newport News, Virginia to tour the shipbuilding site and address the impact of the looming sequester. The President:  Hello, Newport News! Well, it is good to see all of you here today. I want to thank your CEO, Mike Petters, for showing me around. I usually don’t get a chance to hang out with nuclear submarines, especially submarines that my wife has sponsored. (Applause.)  So right there, that was worth the trip. But most importantly…

Noblis to provide technical, engineering, & program management support services to the Naval Sea Systems Command. Noblis, Inc., a leading nonprofit science, technology, and strategy organization that helps clients solve complex scientific, systems, process, and infrastructure problems, announce they have been awarded a prime SeaPort Enhanced (SeaPort-e) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract sponsored by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). The period of performance of the contract is from 12 July 2012 to 04 April 2014. As a prime contract holder on SeaPort-e, Noblis has the ability to compete for work in 21 of the 22 functional areas.

Shipbuilding in Pascagoula would gain, but big farms in the Delta would lose under President Bush's $2.9b budget proposal for next year. Released Monday, the budget recommends spending $168m to expand the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a series of underground salt caverns along the Gulf of Mexico that store millions of gallons of oil to be used in emergencies. The Energy Department has identified the salt caverns near Richton as the preferred site to increase the reserve's storage of oil from 691 million barrels to 1.5 billion barrels. The reserve was tapped in 2005 for more than 20 million barrels of oil to respond to shortages and price spikes following Hurricane Katrina.

but the bill's landmark aspect was a deal that diverts 37.5 percent of federal royalties from future drilling to the four Gulf of Mexico states.. The accord could ultimately be worth $650 million a year for Louisiana. Foes of the legislation fear it will lure states opposed to offshore drilling such as California, Virginia, Florida and North and South Carolina into supporting exploration off their shorelines in return for a gusher of new revenue. Louisiana’s governor has said that the legislation will help Louisiana restore coastal wetlands and take measures to protect such energy infrastructure as ports, pipelines and oil refineries. In fact, the state has amended its constitution to restrict use of the money to those purposes.