CMS finalizes details of physician p4p program
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced the details of its 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative. The voluntary pay-for-performance program rewards physicians, practitioners and therapists for meeting quality care standards that have been designated in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. CMS will pay as much as a 1.5 percent bonus to physicians who meet the PQRI quality standards. The program, which replaces 2006’s Physician Voluntary Reporting Program, will begin on July 1 and run through December 31 of this year.
regence taps vendor for administrative functions
Regence, the Pacific Northwest’s largest not-for-profit health insurer, has announced a customer agreement with a vendor of workflow and connectivity products. Kryptiq Corporation’s Choreo Contract Manager will help Regence’s provider strategy advance in the areas of patient care quality and lower costs. The system will also reduce problems associated with paper-based administrative functions and enable better visibility into patient data, a Regence official said.
Seminar to focus on health plans’ NPI transitions
As several major health plans have announced that they will miss the May 23 National Provider Identifier compliance deadline, an upcoming Web seminar will focus on lessening the financial impact and business disruptions associated with late compliance. The Healthcare IT Transition Group’s seminar will feature Martin Jesen, co-chair of the Workgroup for Electronic Data Exchange, and will be held April 10 and 12.
Health first selects BPO service vendor
Health First Health Plans, a Florida-based payer with an estimated 65,500 plan members, has signed an agreement with a vendor of business process outsourcing software. Health First will use the TriZetto Group Inc.’s workflow application and consumer-directed application to host and manage employer-funded health reimbursement arrangements and flexible spending accounts. Additionally, TriZetto will manage Health First Health Plans’ administrative services, such as claims processing, member enrollment and billing.