Fierce EMR
Feb,28, 2013
by:+ Dan Bowman
House Veterans' Affairs Committee members had some harsh words for VA and Department of Defense officials at a hearing on Wednesday for altering their approach to forming an integrated electronic health record, calling the move "a step backward."
The two agencies, which initially had planned to create a joint records system from the ground up, cited budgetary and time constraints when they announced that they instead would focus on using "existing solutions" to combine their current and disparate systems.
Read Report
This Week's Healthcare News
iHealthbeat
Health IT Experts Say Interoperability To Be Hot Topic at Annual HIMSS Conference
Feb,20,2013
by:+Staff
Interoperability is expected to be a hot topic at this year's annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conference. The conference -- which takes place March 3 through March 7 in New Orleans --will feature an Interoperability Showcase where more than 120 organizations will share lessons and talk about available products. Meanwhile, several Obama administration officials -- including acting CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner and National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari -- will be speaking at the conference about public engagement in health care reform.
Listen to Podcast
Modern Healthcare.com
Sequester's Medicare cuts would start with services provided in April
Feb,27,2013
by:+Jessica Zigmond
If sequestration kicks in Friday as planned, the 2% payment reduction to Medicare providers and insurers will be for services provided on or after April 1, an HHS spokesman confirmed Wednesday. When asked if HHS has already alerted providers and insurers about the date of the payment cuts, the spokesman replied in an e-mail, “If sequestration occurs, official notifications will be made.” The lack of any notice from HHS left provider groups to wonder when their members will see those reductions. An official for the American Health Care Association—which represents skilled-nursing facilities and assisted-living providers—said there has been confusion among the organization's staff and lawyers about when those cuts would take place, while the American Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals and National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems all anticipated the cuts would begin in April.
Read More
Wall Street Journal
Another Big Step in Reshaping Health Care
Feb,28, 2013
by:+ANNA WILDE MATHEWS And JON KAMP
Hospitals and health insurers are locking horns over how much health-care providers will get paid under new insurance plans that will be sold as the federal health law is rolled out.
The results will play a major role in determining how much insurers will ultimately charge consumers for these policies, which will be offered to individuals through so-called exchanges in each state.
The upshot: Many plans sold on the exchanges will include smaller choices of health-care providers in an effort to bring down premiums.
To keep costs low, the insurers are pressing for hospitals to grant discounts from the rates hospitals usually get in commercial plans. In return, participating hospitals would be part of smaller networks of providers. Hospitals will be paid less by the insurer, but will likely get more patients because those people will have fewer choices. The bet is that many consumers will be willing to accept these narrower networks because it will help keep premiums down.
Read Report
Small Business Healthcare Consortium
Hello Businesses Owner,
I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do.
That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC). This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority.
And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC I am personally inviting you to join our network of small businesses who know that only through our collective voices that will assure that the Affordable Care Act live up to its goal of making healthcare affordable for all.
Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of the SBHCC to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. The SBHCC discusses the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.
Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits.
Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side.
As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage. The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. To that end I like for you to hear my own personal story about how the new healthcare law will effect me.
Please go to this link at Healthcare.gov to see my story Watch My Story
Then Join the SBHCC do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or thoughts. I may be reached at wireheadtec@gmail.com or Wirehead Technology
Sincerely,Howard Lee
CIO
Wirehead Technology
Tel-312-286-8416
No comments:
Post a Comment