Policy and Legislation
A blanket hardship exception from 2015's meaningful use reimbursement penalties passed both the House and Senate last week as part of the Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act, offering providers wider latitude for securing exemptions from possible fines.
The group ColoradoCareYES gathered enough signatures -- more than 100,000 -- to put a single-payer health system on the ballot next fall.
Rates not touched since economic downturn in 2008.
Since just a few insurers, or sometimes just one, dominate the market for individuals and small businesses in some states, the law sought to increase competition in those areas by calling for "multi-state" health plans that would be offered by some insurers. The law required that at least two multi-state plans be available to consumers in 31 states by 2014 and in all states by 2017, but it doesn't require insurers to offer the plans and most so far have opted not to. Federal officials and insurance experts say it is unlikely that the 2017 goal will be met.
The U.S. House of Representatives has proposed a two-year suspension of the medical device tax and another two-year delay of the Cadillac tax on high-cost employer health plans.
The Obama administration has given last-minute health insurance shoppers a two-day extension to buy coverage through Healthcare.gov.
A coalition of civil rights advocates Tuesday called for a federal investigation of California's Medicaid program, alleging that it discriminates against millions of low-income Latinos by denying them equal access to health care.
There's a prescription drug abuse problem sweeping the United States, but fixing it will require a systematic change focused on how most health professionals prescribe drugs, rather than changing the practices of a few bad apples.
Congress on Wednesday is considering legislation to allow physicians working in ambulatory surgical centers to receive the same payment incentives for meaningful use of electronic health records as doctors in other settings.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Monday proposed new rules to discharge planning requirements for long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, critical access hospitals and home health agencies.