Payers

Health insurance plans serve as the financial backbone of health care, functioning as the crucial link between employers and providers in the $2.5 trillion industry. Topics include: claims management systems, quality improvement programs and claims processing standards.

Health Law’s Cadillac Tax Bite on Companies Drops by $57 Billion

Alex Nussbaum of Bloomberg | May 16

The U.S. health-care law’s projected tax bite on businesses with more generous health benefits is dropping as medical spending slows and employers look to rein in the cost of coverage.

Revenue Cycle & Payments

Policy & Regulation

Web Seminar to Focus on Using Direct Messaging in Stage 2

Joseph Goedert | May 15

The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission will host a free 90-minute Web seminar on May 30 to walk through using the Direct Project secure messaging protocols to comply with Stage 2 electronic health records meaningful use measures.

Electronic Data Interchange

Health Info Exchange

EHR

Group Practices

Hospitals

Stimulus

Policy & Regulation

Study Examines if Health Spending Drop is Permanent

Joseph Goedert | May 14

Annual increases in the nation’s health care spending have significantly fallen in recent years, but that trend is longer than commonly believed, and it isn’t yet clear if the trend is permanent, according to a new study published in Health Affairs.

Consumer Health

Group Practices

Hospitals

Policy & Regulation

Insurers to Business Associates: Standardize Security Best Practices

Joseph Goedert | May 13

HITRUST, a health industry consortium best known for developing the Common Security Framework of best practices, now has several of its members that will require business associates to follow the framework and document compliance with it.

Group Practices

Hospitals

Vendor News

Data Security

Policy & Regulation

NCQA Certifies First Wave of Medical Home ‘Content Experts’

Joseph Goedert | May 13

Health care accreditation firm NCQA announced in January 2013 a new program to credential patient-centered medical home content experts. Now, it has posted contact information for more than 100 credentialed experts in 29 states on a new Web site.

Group Practices

Hospitals

Disease Management

Consumer Health

Chronic Care

Policy & Regulation

Revenue Cycle & Payments

Why an Everyday Player is NEVER the Designated Hitter

Jeff Urban | May 13

The belief that a pure information technology professional, once trained, can fill the role of a Healthcare I.T. Subject Matter Expert is becoming more widely accepted, and if perpetuated, has the chance to create more issues than it solves.

Hospitals

Group Practices

EHR

Making the Medical Home More Homey

Gary Baldwin | May 10

Adelante Healthcare is a federally qualified health center in Mesa, Arizona that was formed in the late 1970s to serve migrant workers. Back then, clinicians worked out of ramshackle trailers. Today it’s a different story.

Consumer Health

EHR

Group Practices

ONC Offers Guidance on Stage 2 Transitions of Care

Joseph Goedert | May 10

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has issued guidance on how “health information service providers” and “health information organizations” can support providers in meeting the electronic health records meaningful use criteria for transition of care measures.

EHR

Health Info Exchange

Group Practices

Hospitals

Policy & Regulation

Stimulus

Community Health Centers to Aid in HIX Enrollment

Joseph Goedert | May 10

The HHS Health Resources and Services Administration is offering $150 million in grants to community health centers across the nation to provide in-person enrollment assistance to patients who are uninsured.

Consumer Health

Group Practices

Hospitals

Policy & Regulation

Health Info Exchange

Which Hospitals Get an ‘A’ for Patient Safety?

Joseph Goedert | May 09

In the Leapfrog Group’s Spring 2013 update of its Hospital Safety Score, 780 out of 2,514 analyzed hospitals get an “A” grade for their efforts to protect patients from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors.

Hospitals

Consumer Health

Policy & Regulation

Michigan HIE Links EMS, Fire Departments to Hospitals

Joseph Goedert | May 09

Michigan Health Connect, a large regional health information exchange, is connecting fire departments and emergency medical services to its network that links 67 hospitals including eight delivery systems, and ancillary providers across the lower peninsula of the state.

Comments (1)

Group Practices

Health Info Exchange

Decision Support

Hospitals

Vendor News

UnitedHealth Blamed for Failures under Pentagon Health Contract

Kathleen Miller of Bloomberg News | May 08

The Pentagon rebuked UnitedHealth Group Inc., the nation’s largest insurer, after military families began experiencing long delays getting medical-care referrals from the company.

Consumer Health

Policy & Regulation

Group Practices

Hospitals

CMS Releases Hospital Price Ranges of 100 Common Treatments

Joseph Goedert | May 08

Pricing by hospitals across the nation for treating the 100 most common Medicare inpatient stays now is publicly available from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Consumer Health

Hospitals

Revenue Cycle & Payments

Policy & Regulation

CMS: Deadline Nears to Avoid Medicare eRx Payment Penalty

Joseph Goedert | May 08

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has published guidance on avoiding a 2 percent reduction in Medicare payments for physicians who are not participating in the Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program by June 30, 2013:

Group Practices

Medication Management

Revenue Cycle & Payments

Policy & Regulation

Coding

Electronic Data Interchange

Health Info Exchange

Congress Asked to Fund Network to Track Infections

Joseph Goedert | May 08

Thirty health care and patient safety organizations have sent a letter to Congress asking for $31.5 million to fund the National Healthcare Safety Network, which tracks healthcare-associated infections.

Disease Management

Data Repositories

Hospitals

Group Practices

Policy & Regulation