Government: Page 167
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Slavitt floats possible MACRA delay
Medicare payment reform would be hardest on small practices if pushed through as quickly as planned.
By Heather Caspi • July 14, 2016 -
Deep Dive
AMA guidelines offer roadmap for ethical use of telemedicine
Teladoc called the AMA guidelines a “significant step forward” in the use of telemedicine to advance patient care.
By Meg Bryant • July 14, 2016 -
Trendline
Labor
Hospitals are navigating persistent labor shortages with the need to cut costs — a source of contention that could leave patients caught in the middle.
By Healthcare Dive staff -
CMS projects hospital spending to grow 5.8% annually over 2015-2025
Overall, national health expenditures are estimated to have reached $3.2 trillion in 2015.
By Jeff Byers • July 13, 2016 -
Newly passed House mental health reform bill would clarify HIPAA privacy issues
Legislators got the measure to the 422-2 vote by dropping and separating it from gun issues.
By Heather Caspi • July 11, 2016 -
CMS' updated Physician Fee Schedule proposal sweeps across the continuum
The agency is updating a host of payments including some related to mental health services, diabetes prevention and care coordination.
By Meg Bryant • July 8, 2016 -
Alabama ends enhanced payments for some doctors
The payment cuts are in response to an $85 million budget gap in Medicaid funding.
By Meg Bryant • July 8, 2016 -
HHS plan would uncouple hospital payments, pain management surveys
Additional efforts to combat the opioid epidemic HHS announced yesterday range from expanding treatment access to tougher prescription drug monitoring.
By Heather Caspi • July 7, 2016 -
CMS proposes site-neutral outpatient payment rates, flexibility in EHR program
The American Hospital Association is not happy with the decision over the proposed rule.
By Heather Caspi • July 7, 2016 -
Freestanding EDs raise confusion in Colorado
Patients don't know what to make of the dozens of new facilities around the state, advocates say.
By Heather Caspi • July 7, 2016 -
Abbott nets FDA approval for premier fully-dissolving biodegradable stent
The medical device maker plans to roll out the tool at interventional cardiology centers that participated in the ABSORB clinical trial before expanding to more hospitals nationwide.
By Meg Bryant • July 6, 2016 -
ONC's new MACRA-required interoperability metrics look to mitigate reporting fatigue
Many of the comments received were related to four topics: burden, scope, outcomes, and complexity.
By Ana Mulero • July 6, 2016 -
CMS expands claims data access for Qualified Entity Program
The change opens the door for for-profit and third-party entities to use federal claims data.
By Heather Caspi • July 5, 2016 -
Open Payments data reveal docs received $7.52B industry payments in 2015
The American Medical Association chided CMS for “continued data errors and registration challenges” in its program.
By Meg Bryant • July 1, 2016 -
False claims penalties set to double
The sharp increase in FCA penalties could raise constitutional concerns, one lawyer says.
By Meg Bryant • July 1, 2016 -
Is DOJ ready to scuttle the Anthem-Cigna merger?
If the deal falls though, Cigna may attempt to acquire smaller market players who specialize in government-funded plans.
By Meg Bryant • July 1, 2016 -
CMS official: adjustments possible on Medicare drug proposal
The administration is reviewing comments in the face of both Republican and Democratic resistance.
By Heather Caspi • June 30, 2016 -
HHS aims to streamline Medicare appeals process
The mounting backlog of more than 700,000 cases would take 11 years to clear under the current system.
By Heather Caspi • June 30, 2016 -
DOJ accuses Prime of driving up Medicare admissions
Staff members were allegedly pressured into accepting lenient admissions standards.
By Heather Caspi • June 30, 2016 -
Aetna/Humana merger inches closer to closing with Illinois approval
Illinois insurance chief Melissa Dowd concluded the deal won’t harm competition in the Medicare Advantage market.
By Meg Bryant • June 29, 2016 -
Federal panel casts doubt on benefit of pelvic exams for healthy women
The draft recommendation is a reminder of how medical procedures long considered best practice can turn out to have little scientific basis.
By Meg Bryant • June 29, 2016 -
Hacker posts 9.3M patient records for sale on dark net
In the face of growing ransomware attacks, HHS proposed steps healthcare entities can take to protect their databases.
By Meg Bryant • June 29, 2016 -
Supreme Court rejects home healthcare wage lawsuit
A rule requiring minimum wages and overtime pay for home health workers will stay in place. It only applies to workers who are employed by third parties like home healthcare agencies.
By Ana Mulero • June 28, 2016 -
Deep Dive
STDs are rising. What can providers do?
“We want doctors to discuss STDs and risk-reduction strategies with their patients,” says CDC epidemiologist Eloisa Llata.
By Meg Bryant • June 27, 2016 -
Health policy leaders to HHS: More bundled payment models, please
Cardiac procedures should be the focus of the next mandatory bundled payment demonstration, some health policy leaders say.
By Heather Caspi • June 27, 2016 -
SCOTUS dismisses Texas abortion law in 5-3 decision
Some have called the case the first major abortion case in about 10 years.
By Ana Mulero • June 27, 2016
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