SGR

Climb Every Mountain: Are Medical Group Leaders Moving Forward on Automation, Despite All the Challenges?

July 23, 2013     Mark Hagland
blog
If recent surveys are any indication, the leaders of physician groups nationwide are making the decision to move forward on absolutely needed clinical information technology implementation, despite the challenges inherent in a shifting reimbursement landscape.

Premier Healthcare Alliance Leaders Ask Members of Congress to Focus on Quality Measures When Trying to Create an "SGR Fix"

July 10, 2013     Mark Hagland
news
On July 9, leaders at the Charlotte-based Premier healthcare alliance submitted comments via letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, with regard to members of the U.S. House of Representatives now considering how to solve what is commonly known as the "SGR problem."

Washington Debrief: House Leaders Target August for SGR Fix

June 18, 2013     Jeff Smith, Director of Public Policy at CHIME
article
Two influential committees with jurisdiction over Medicare’s Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula said they are targeting an August date for completing committee work on a replacement bill. The news comes amid some concern that the House Ways & Means and House Energy & Commerce Committees were no longer in sync on a path forward to replace the SGR.

Washington Debrief: Direct Guidance Released for Stage 2 Assistance

June 4, 2013     Jeff Smith, Director of Public Policy at CHIME
article
Recently, Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) released programmatic guidance for State HIE grantees who act as Health Information Service Providers (HISPs) for providers to engage in Direct, point-to-point, exchange.

HHS Releases 2014 Budget

April 10, 2013     John DeGaspari
news
The Department of Health and Human Services today released its 2014 budget, providing $80.1 billion in discretionary funding, $3.9 billion above the 2012 enacted level. HHS said the budget continues to invest in Affordable Care Act implementation, medical research, mental health services, and Head Start, yet savings are achieved through trade-offs such as the elimination of the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant, and reductions in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Community Services Block Grant.

AAFP Calls for Permanent Fix on Legislation’s Temporary Medicare Payment Patch

January 2, 2013     Rajiv Leventhal
news
Upon learning of the Jan. 1 news that Congress put into place a one-year “doc fix” to prevent a 26.9-percent immediate Medicare reimbursement cut to physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is calling on legislation to repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.

What’s Happening With the “Fiscal Cliff”? Premier’s Blair Childs Explains

December 10, 2012     Mark Hagland
article
As the clock counts down to the so-called “fiscal cliff,” the negotiations between the White House and congressional Republicans reveal just how vulnerable healthcare providers are to potential reimbursement cuts and added policy mandates, as the federal government lurches forward to resolve many unresolved budget and healthcare policy issues

Post-Election 2012: Whither Healthcare on Capitol Hill? A Conversation with Premier’s Blair Childs

November 8, 2012     Mark Hagland
article
In the wake of the Nov. 6 federal elections, Blair Childs, senior vice president for public affairs at the Charlotte-based Premier health alliance, spoke with HCI Editor-in-Chief Mark Hagland regarding the election’s implications for healthcare policy and healthcare IT policy

New EHR Certification Standards: What’s the Cost?

April 4, 2012     Jennifer Prestigiacomo
blog
The headline for the ONC’s new proposed rule standards and certification criteria for EHRs 2014 edition, which was rolled out at HIMSS this year, has been all about flexibility. The ONC has envisioned the new certification criteria also giving clearer definitions of certification requirements, promoting progress toward interoperability, and reducing regulatory burden.

Got Open Doors?

September 12, 2011     Mark Hagland
blog
Only the nimblest, most data-driven hospitals will thrive in the coming reimbursement landscape

Could SGR Imperil HITECH for MDs?

December 28, 2010     Mark Hagland
article
Among the most dramatic findings of an MGMA member survey from this summer: among 2,860 groups representing 63,000 physicians in practice, based on the prospect of a 23.6 percent cut scheduled for December 1 in Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR), and an additional 6.5-percent cut scheduled for January 1, medical groups plan drastic changes.

Will the One-Year SGR Patch Enable HITECH?

December 15, 2010     Mark Hagland
blog
I found the passage by the U.S. Senate (Dec. 7) and U.S. House of Representatives (Dec. 9) of a one-year “SGR patch” or “SGR aversion” (as some are calling it) fascinating. In brief, members of both houses of the U.S. Congress decided to kick the proverbial can down the road for one more year, forestalling 25-percent-plus cuts in physician reimbursement under Medicare’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula at least until 2012.
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