Posts By: admin

Declining memberships, millions written off in “risk-corridor” payments, blocked mergers and more… It seems the Affordable Care Act may not be so “Affordable” after all?   The decision to participate in The Exchange has not only driven costs up for many insurance consumers, small businesses and the like, but has also caused huge loses in revenue for some of the largest insurance companies.  Read the attached article to see how Humana and Aetna have been affected by Government involvement in the “Insurance Space”. Read Modern Healthcare Article Published by:  Modern Healthcare:  Written by:  Shelby Livingston, February 8, 2017

The CMS EHR Incentive Program attestation system will be open from January 3 – February 28, 2017.  To avoid payment adjustments, providers must attest by the above deadline.  CMS has released two worksheets to help providers prepare for attestation.  Click the following link to access the “Eligible Professionals” Worksheet.  Eligible Professionals.  To access Eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals worksheet, follow this link:  Hospitals & Critical Access Hospitals.  Once the worksheets are completed, they should prove helpful as a reference when attesting for the 2016 EHR Incentive Program in the CMS Registration and Attestation System:  See link  CMS Registration.  …
Learn More

The three-drug “cocktail” of drugs necessary to execute an inmate in Virginia via lethal injection, costs 63 times last year’s “going price”.  The Virginia lethal injection protocol requires three components:  pentobarbital or midazolam (sedatives), followed by rocuronium bromide to end breathing, and potassium chloride to stop the heart.  Virginia, and other states, continues the fight to obtain these drugs.  Pharmaceutical companies block their sale for use in executions for fear they will be publicly accused of medical ethics violations.  In contrast, compounding pharmacies can make the make and sell these drugs with their identities kept from the public.  $66,000 is the price Virginia recently…
Learn More

Physicians have threatened to stop accepting Medicare and some have even promised to retire if MACRA rolls out.  Come January 2017, when the Republicans are fully in charge of the government, will they delay the rollout?  The rule is still open for “comment” and complaints continue to flood in from providers that say they have had enough.  In the attached article, a neurologist is quoted saying:  MACRA is “causing the biggest brain drain in the best medical system in the world”.  You will reap the whirlwind you have sown.  I would have never thought the central government would have so little regard…
Learn More

During his Campaign, Donald Trump promised to change many key government policies that were signed into law under President Obama. Immigration, Taxes, Terrorism, Health Care, Climate Change, and Trade are a few of the topics that are at the top of his list.   During his 8 years as President, President Obama used executive orders to force his policies into law when efforts to get his legislation through Congress failed.  Obama’s policies now hang in the balance as he prepares to turn the Whitehouse over to Donald Trump.  Obama and Trump met at the Whitehouse today to discuss the transition.  Some news reports stated that Obama was “rooting” for Trump…
Learn More

On November 2, The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services released their final proposed 2017 Medicare Fee Schedule.  This new fee schedule is set to pay primary care physicians more than they were previously paid for certain types of care.  The increased fees are for treatment of Chronic illnesses and cognitive and behavioral problems.  Andy Slavitt, CMS Acting Administrator, estimates this will put an additional $140 million in reimbursements in the pockets of PCPs.  Follow this link to read more which also discusses how the new proposed 2017 fee schedules may positively affect surgeons by reducing their reporting chores and simplifying the coding requirements…
Learn More

As the 2016 Election results unfold, use this Modern Healthcare article to help you determine how you believe healthcare policy will be affected by the election results.  How will Medicaid expansion be impacted across the states?  Will the country move closer to a single-payer healthcare system or head back towards a competitive market?  How will the results impact future drug prices?  Read Article Published by:  Modern Healthcare:  November 5, 2016

The AMA and some Consumer groups believe insurer consolidation gives larger insurers (Anthem-Cigna) “anticompetitive market power” which would negatively affect providers and patients.  They believe a merger such as the Anthem Cigna Merger will create a new “insurance behemoth” which will drive costs up and lead to lower quality healthcare. According to Henry Allen, the AMA’s top antitrust attorney, “The diminished competition leading to higher prices will also lead to lower plan quality”.  With very little competition, what incentive would the new insurer have to pass savings along to the consumers?  Others believe various aspect of a larger insurer would drive costs down.  Read On…
Learn More

The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions conducted a national survey of 600 PCP and Specialty physicians, the 2016 Survey of US Physicians, to determine their level of awareness of MACRA, how it would affect them and if they were ready for this change.  300 of the 600 survey had never heard of the law. Considering CMS plans to impose the first performance reporting period effective January 1, 2017, this is an alarming percentage of uninformed providers.  Read on for full survey results (link below).  Are you ready for MACRA? Deloitte article Published by:  Deloitte: 2016

In a time where we are used to having information and services at our fingertips, patients report they need quick, convenient access to their physicians as well.  Contact with physicians via the telephone, email and even virtual visits are becoming more in demand.  Read how Telemedicine can benefit patients and physicians by expanding access to care, improving clinical workflows and supporting better communication.  How can telehealth give your organization a boost?   Health IT Outcome article Published by:  Health IT Outcomes:  June 27, 2016