Sobering results for cost-cutting Medicare project
(AP
<p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090210/ap_on_he_me/med_medicare_disappointment"><img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090210/capt.0a3c5618f8bd4aacbc65710d97759c51.medicare_disappointment_pamr102.jpg?x=130y=86q=85sig=tIV3sUWkoHejJrIaOmqpVA--" align="left" height="86" width="130" alt="Jim Reid, a 74-year-old retired Pennsylvania welder, poses in Lansdale, Pa., Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. Reid was a rare success story in an ambitious coordinated care effort to cut costs and keep aging, sick Medicare patients out of the hospital. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)" border="0" /></a>AP - An ambitious effort to cut costs and keep aging, sick Medicare patients out of the hospital mostly didn't work, a government-contracted study found. The disappointing results show how tough it is to manage older patients with chronic diseases, who often take multiple prescriptions, see many different doctors and sometimes get conflicting medical advice.</p><br clear="all"/>

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