Reimbursement

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Thursday that consumers will soon begin receiving unprecedented information on the value of their health insurance coverage, and some will receive rebates from insurance companies that spend less than 80 percent of their premium dollars on healthcare.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that 2,000 hospitals and 41,000 physicians have received $3.1 billion in incentive payments for the meaningful use of certified electronic health records (EHRs).

Christine Eibner, an economist and director of the Comprehensive Assessment of Reform Efforts Microsimulation Modeling Initiative at the RAND Corporation in Arlington, Va, is the lead author of a study published in the February edition of the journal Health Affairs, which analyzed two rules -- allowing employers to self-insure or maintain grandfathered health insurance plans -- to avoid participating in health reform and how they might impact the future cost of health insurance.

The case for leapfrogging ICD-10 and holding out for ICD-11 just got a lot more curious. And though it's not here yet, when ICD-11 is ready, it will be something ICD-10 cannot: A 21st Century classification system.

Government Health IT Editor Tom Sullivan speaks to Wendy Whittington, MD, who is CMO of Anthelio Healthcare Solutions about the possibility of an ICD-10 delay.

The possibility of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services delaying ICD-10 sure did cause a ruckus on Tuesday. What began as CMS acting administrator Marilyn Tavenner telling attendees at an AMA meeting that CMS will re-examine the pace of ICD-10 implementation, turned into reports of the agency "signaling" a delay with plenty of physicians stating their support on the record.

In a deal that aims to create a technology company focused on providing real-time data to doctors from both medical records and private payers, Lumeris and payers Highmark Inc., Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and Independence Blue Cross announced they will acquire NaviNet for an undisclosed price.

MEDfx Corporation and Community Health Alliance, Inc., a Richmond, Va.-based not-for-profit organization, have announced a partnership to create a Virginia statewide health information exchange (HIE).

More than two-thirds of the complete electronic health records of providers and hospitals that have qualified for meaningful use incentives are dually certified under both the ONC-ATCB and the CCHIT Certified programs, the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) announced.

Revenue and payment cycle specialist Recondo Technology announced last week it had acquired revenue cycle competitor Lakewood, Fla.-based Trilogi, Inc., in a move that broadens Recondo's customer base.