Reimbursement

Leading financial analysts scoffed at the notion of a healthcare IT "bubble" that could slow the pace of mergers and acquisitions this year. Speaking on a panel called "Financing The Deal" at the Nashville Health Care Council, they predicted that 2012 M&A activity would be brisk, though not superheated.

Michael McKay, 32, of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.. pleaded guilty in district court on May 11 for forging physician's chart notes to make Medicare or private carrier claims qualify for reimbursements for bone growth stimulator medical devices.

As the number of home health agencies and fraud cases related to home health agencies continues to skyrocket, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) is exerting more pressure on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to fulfill an obligation that is 15 years old.

Jeffrey Selwyn, an internist at New Pueblo Medicine in Tucson, Ariz., is 65, but he says he's nowhere near retiring. Unlike many docs his age who are throwing in the towel due to the increased pressures on physicians to use EHRs, Selwyn is excited. He wasn't always a fan, however.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is calling for public comment on proposals for rules of the road to govern the nationwide health information network (NwHIN).

To be honest, I think we're beyond arguing the merits of ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation. It's inevitable.

In an effort to lower the number of out-of-network referrals for outpatient surgical procedures, Aetna has launched a program that will actively alert both members and their doctors if they are leaving the insurer's network for care and work to shift the referral to an in-network provider.

A new national program from Aetna that seeks to lower the number of out-of-network referrals for outpatient surgical procedures will actively alert both members and their doctors if they are leaving the insurer's network for care and work to shift the referral to an in-network provider.

As it looks to maintain Medicaid member access to primary care doctors, HHS announced last week  a two-year, $11 billion program that will help states bring Medicaid payments for primary care services in line with those paid by Medicare.

In a move that anticipates the increase in the number of people insured through state Medicaid programs as a result of the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced yesterday a two-year, $11 billion program that will help states bring Medicaid payments for primary care services in line with those paid by Medicare.