New market studies of the San Francisco and Fresno areas conducted by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) offer a stark contrast—particularly in preparations for health reform—between one of the most affluent and poorest regions of the state.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will waive late payment penalties on the medical device tax for the first nine months of 2013, according to new regulations. However, late payment penalties will only be waived in situations where a company has reasonable cause.

To drive the collection and availability of performance data on the fledgling Physician Compare consumer website, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking provider feedback about the use of patient experience measures.

A proposed rule would implement several changes in how health insurers operate under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the rule will be published in the Federal Register on Dec. 7.

Two pay-for-performance (P4P) programs implemented in Maryland are showing how state-level efforts to set payment rates are influencing provider behavior and improving patient outcomes, according to research published in the December issue of Health Affairs. 

The FDA is entering a public-private partnership with the Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC) to help speed the development, assessment and review of new medical devices.

Approximately 70 percent of voters believe reining in high healthcare costs should be a top post-election priority, according to an online survey of 1,200 conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Accountable care organizations taking on a variety of forms are becoming more active in the healthcare landscape, but they’re far from proving their value, according to a report published by market researcher KLAS and consulting firm Leavitt Partners.