Policy and Legislation
A new healthcare commission announced last week will focus on developing state-level policies aimed at reducing the cost of care while improving quality.
The National Quality Forum (NQF) has endorsed 14 infectious disease quality measures designed to help providers evaluate patients, manage treatments and improve patient care.
An analysis by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services show that for the third consecutive year, healthcare spending grew in 2011 by 3.9 percent or a total of $2.7 trillion, the lowest growth rate recorded since CMS began tracking healthcare spending in 1960.
Under the two-month patch approved by the House and Senate on January 1 to avert the "fiscal cliff" Congress has permanently cut more than $1.4 billion in funding that was earmarked to help consumer operated and oriented (CO-OP) health plans become established in all 50 states.
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 became law on Jan. 2. Among its many provisions, the law postpones a scheduled 26.5 percent payment cut for physicians and other practitioners who treat Medicare patients, but payments to physicians may be temporarily held.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded $1.9 million to fund five regional and one national telehealth resource center.
A 2.3 percent medical device tax went into effect on Jan. 1 as part of the Affordable Care Act, despite claims from medical device companies that the tax will significantly hurt their businesses.
With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) over the next few years there are going to be several new fees for both health insurers and employers sponsoring self-insured health plans that go into effect.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have voted by 257-167, with 172 Democratic votes and only 85 Republicans voting in favor, to approve the previously Senate-passed bill that will avert the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax increases and mandated spending cuts.
Gene Lindsey, MD, president and CEO of Newton, Mass.-based Atrius Health shares his thoughts on accountable care organizations (ACOs) and talks about Atrius' experience as a Pioneer ACO.