September 13, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
A bill was introduced this week in Congress that would permit in-state license Medicare providers to utilize telemedicine services for Medicare beneficiaries elsewhere. The “Telemedicine for Medicare Act of 2013,” was introduced by Reps. Devin Nunes (R-CA 22) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ 6).
August 29, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
Physicians are divided on the hot-button issue of healthcare data transparency, according to a recent poll from the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE).
August 27, 2013 Jeff Smith, Director of Public Policy at CHIME
article
Last week, yet another provider organization urged HHS officials to “implement an indefinite moratorium on penalties” for physicians as long as they complete Stage 1 of Meaningful Use. In a letter to Secretary Sebelius, the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) also joined CHIME, AAFP, HIMSS and others in requesting an extension to Meaningful Use timelines in 2014.
August 27, 2013 Mark Hagland
blog
When The New York Times runs an article on page 1 of its Sunday Business section, people notice. And that goes double when the headline on the article reads, "How to Charge $546 for Six Liters of Saltwater." The bottom line? The push for transparency will only intensify in the new healthcare.
August 23, 2013 Gabriel Perna
blog
A recent law passed in North Carolina shows that pricing transparency in healthcare has reached the tipping point. No one, not even the most cynical of observers, can ignore the momentum this movement has gained.
August 15, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
blog
I wouldn't blame you if you were taken aback by the statistics seen earlier this month regarding hospital readmissions. Medical systems are supposed to be lowering readmissions in an effort to improve clinician accountability and patient safety all while cutting costs, and the statistics have told us that most have failed to do that. But taking a deeper look beyond the numbers will show you that the future is not so grim.
August 13, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
article
With the news hitting in late July that nine Pioneer accountable care organizations (ACOs) will drop out of the Pioneer program, healthcare experts have been struggling to draw conclusions about what this really means for the future of accountable care. Is it still a realistic outcome? Michael Nugent, managing director of the healthcare practice at Navigant, a Chicago-based consulting firm, answers this question while also offering advice on how ACOs could revamp their strategies to be more effective moving forward.
August 9, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is reaching out to the public and asking them to provide input on the best possible ways to make provider-level Medicare data available, the agencies announced in a recent email.
August 5, 2013 Mark Hagland
blog
A sometimes-heated discussion taking place in New York City around introducing a physician pay-for-performance program into that city’s immense public hospital system speaks to the broader debate around how best to transform U.S. healthcare
August 1, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 51-0 to approve bipartisan legislation that would replace the current Medicare payment model— known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)—with a stable system of payments to reimburse U.S. doctors.
July 31, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has signed a web-broker entity agreement with eHealth, as Mountain View, Calif.-based company that provides private online health insurance exchanges. The agreement will allow eHealth to enroll tax-subsidy-eligible residents of 36 states in qualified health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
July 30, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
In editorial presented by Politico, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) argued in support of legislation that would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a free, online searchable database of Medicare claims data.
_0_75.jpg)
