June 2010 - Posts

CMS Proposes Rule to Expand Medicare Preventive Services
June 30, 2010 10:25 AM by Frank Irving

Coverage of annual wellness visit would begin in 2011. On June 25, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would implement key provisions in the Affordable Care Act of 2010 that expand preventive services for Read More...

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No Action Yet on CMS Administrator Hearing
June 29, 2010 9:55 AM by Frank Irving

President Obama nominated Donald Berwick in April. An editorial published June 29 in the Washington Post reminds us that the position to lead the Medicare and Medicaid programs remains unfilled, as it has been since 2006. This despite President Obama's Read More...

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Governors Challenge Federal Lawsuit Against Health Care Reform
June 28, 2010 12:47 PM by Frank Irving

State leaders from Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Washington file motion to enter the case. On June 23, Gov. Chris Gregoire of Washington, along with Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, Gov. Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania and Gov. Bill Ritter of Read More...

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Massachusetts Survey Assesses Patient Experiences with Primary Care
June 25, 2010 8:22 AM by Frank Irving

Report summarizes responses from nearly 80,000 commercially insured patients. A report released June 24 by Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (MHQP), an independent organization working to improve the quality of health care services, provides the first Read More...

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CMS Proposes New Visitation Rights for Hospital Patients
June 24, 2010 8:31 AM by Frank Irving

Patients at Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals may designate their own visitors. On June 23, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed new rules for hospitals that would protect patients' rights to choose their own visitors Read More...

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ONC Establishes Temporary Certification Program for EHRs
June 23, 2010 9:06 AM by Frank Irving

National Coordinator will begin accepting applications July 1 for testing/certification bodies. On June 18, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued a final rule to establish a temporary certification program Read More...

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White House Memo Creates Do-Not-Pay List
June 22, 2010 10:18 AM by Frank Irving

Payment of federal funds to ineligible recipients deemed unacceptable. On June 18, President Barack Obama issued a memorandum to the heads of U.S. executive departments and agencies directing them to conduct a thorough review of available databases "with Read More...

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Details on Grandfathered Health Plan Regulations
June 21, 2010 9:32 AM by Frank Irving

Employers should determine whether the benefits of maintaining grandfathered status outweigh the restrictions on plan design and cost-sharing changes. Guest commentary from Susan M. Nash, Amy M. Gordon, Jamie A. Weyeneth and Elizabeth A. Savard, partners Read More...

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Study Shows Importance of Ongoing Patient Relationship with Personal Physician
June 18, 2010 9:26 AM by Frank Irving

Researchers say dwindling number of primary care practitioners signals quality concerns. Patients who have a regular doctor either at a community health center or at the physician's office report receiving better quality health care, and have a better Read More...

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Tax Benefits Extended to Health Professionals Working in Underserved Areas
June 17, 2010 9:51 AM by Frank Irving

Affordable Care Act expands exclusion under loan repayment and forgiveness programs. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on June 16 that under the Affordable Care Act health care professionals who received student loan relief under state programs Read More...

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AMA Releases Insurer Report Card
June 16, 2010 12:24 PM by Frank Irving

Finds that one in five claims are processed inaccurately. At its annual meeting this week in Chicago, the American Medical Association (AMA) reported results of its third annual study of the nation's commercial health insurers and the systems they use Read More...

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Agencies Issue Rules for Grandfathered Health Plans
June 15, 2010 10:10 AM by Frank Irving

Plans will lose status if they significantly cut benefits or increase consumer costs. On June 14, the Departments of Health & Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury issued a new regulation aimed at helping Americans with existing health coverage Read More...

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Senate Amendment Would Extend COBRA Assistance
June 14, 2010 11:07 AM by Frank Irving

Casey-Brown measure co-sponsored by 14 other senators On June 9, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced an amendment to the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 that would reinstate expired COBRA health care Read More...

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CMS Offers Direct Data Entry Option for Self-Insured Hospitals and Captive Insurers
June 11, 2010 2:19 PM by Frank Irving

Small reporters can submit claim reports directly through secure Web site. Guest commentary from Joan Polacheck and James W. Kim of the law firm McDermott Will & Emery LLP On May 25, 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published Read More...

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Study Outlines Priorities for Medical Innovation
June 10, 2010 3:33 PM by Frank Irving

Calls for White-House-level leadership. The United States is quickly losing ground as the global leader in medical innovation and must pursue coordinated action at the highest levels of government to ensure U.S. competitiveness, create high-paying jobs Read More...

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New Grants Address Insurance Premium Rate Review
June 9, 2010 10:05 AM by Frank Irving

$250 million available to states over the next five years. On June 7, Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the availability of $51 million in Health Insurance Premium Review Grants through the Affordable Care Act. According Read More...

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Donut Hole Checks to be Mailed June 10
June 8, 2010 11:19 AM by Frank Irving

One-time rebate goes out to first wave of 4 million recipients. On June 10, the government will issue the first mailing of the $250 rebate checks for seniors on Medicare who fall into the prescription drug coverage gap known as the "donut hole," the White Read More...

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Health Care Tax Credit Helps Small Employers
June 7, 2010 12:35 PM by Frank Irving

Maximum credit is 35 percent of premiums paid by eligible employers. The small business health care tax credit, created under the Affordable Care Act and signed into law March 23, encourages small employers to offer health insurance coverage for the first Read More...

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Medicare to Participate in State Multi-payer Health Reform Efforts
June 4, 2010 4:30 PM by Frank Irving

States urged to join demonstration . On June 2, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) invited states to apply for participation in the Multi-payer Advanced Primary Care (APC) Practice Read More...

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Specialty Doctors Frustrated with Lack of Medicare Physician Payment Reform
June 3, 2010 7:53 AM by Frank Irving

Group says Congressional inaction could lead to gaps in seniors' medical care . Statement from the Alliance of Specialty Medicine, which represents more than 100,000 specialty physicians nationwide, released May 28. The word out of the Halls of Congress...is Read More...

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Potential New Guidance from OCR on De-Identification
June 2, 2010 6:47 AM by Frank Irving

Recent conference raises more questions than answers. Guest commentary from Jennifer S. Geetter, a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP Since its passage, compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Read More...

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Reducing Health Care Fraud through Analytic Insight
June 1, 2010 10:18 AM by Frank Irving

Smarter systems can help weed out fraud and put the focus on providing preventative care. Guest commentary from Brad Allen, lead architect for IBM Entity Analytics Personnel at a hospital in Miami called an Illinois woman repeatedly, demanding she pay Read More...

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