Policy and Legislation
From the financial pangs at the pointy ends of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to the frustrations and economic hardships courtesy of health information technology (HIT), a new physician outlook survey reveals the top challenges and concerns of physicians today.
One would think, given the title of the CMS press release, "Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations succeed in improving care, lowering costs," that the first year of the advanced ACO program was an across-the-board roaring success. But upon closer examination, the report card would appear to be rather checkered.
A year into the Pioneer ACOs program and participating organizations are already showing reductions in costs and improvements in care, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Tuesday.
More than half of private companies are finding themselves ahead of the government's employer insurance requirements now that the Treasury Department has delayed compliance until 2015.
Insurer WellPoint will pay a $1.7 million fine to the federal government to settle potential HIPAA violations, announced the Health and Human Services Department said late Thursday.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' 2014 proposed rules for the hospital outpatient prospective system, released earlier this week, offer payment increases and "packaging" of services.
A federal court judge in Chicago Tuesday dismissed a whistle-blower case against long-term care pharmacy provider, Omnicare, following the finalization of an undisclosed settlement that took nearly a year to hammer out.
Under a proposed rule issued this week, CMS would make a separate payment to physicians for managing select Medicare patients' care needs beginning in 2015. Currently, Medicare only pays for primary care management services as part of a face-to-face visit.
The administration suddenly announced tonight that the requirement that all employers with 50 or more workers offer health insurance has been delayed until 2015.
As part of the CY 2014 Medicare end stage renal disease prospective payment system proposed rule, CMS is proposing updates to three Medicare durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies policies.