An analysis from Harvard’s department of healthcare policy shows such wide variation in baseline spending levels from one ACO to the next that any future benchmarking efforts, including those performed within single given regions, must roll out parity measures only gradually—or pay the price in the form of participation falloffs.  

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — (March 7, 2016) vRad (Virtual Radiologic), an affiliate of MEDNAX, Inc. (NYSE: MD) and the leading national teleradiology services and telemedicine company, today announced that it will showcase insights and best practices learned from a successful ICD-10 transition of 2,100+ client facilities during a live webinar on March 9, 2016 at 12:00 pm CT. 

The Ensuring Removal of Terminated Providers from Medicaid and CHIP Act (HR 3716), which helps states identify healthcare providers who have been banned from Medicare, a Medicaid program, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, has been unanimously approved by the U.S. House.

The healthcare industry transitioned to ICD-10 back on Oct. 1 with few problems. Despite the success, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released a new toolkit designed to help providers track and improve their ICD-10 performance.

New Jersey’s Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee has approved legislation requiring hospitals and physicians to screen patients born between 1945 and 1965 for Hepatitis C. It was a bill both the New Jersey Hospital Association and the Medical Society of New Jersey opposed, and committee chairman State Sen. Joseph Vitale said the organizations “ought to be ashamed of themselves,” according to a report from NJ.com. 

A new analysis from the ACAView project, the joint effort between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and athenahealth to track the impact of the Affordable Care Act, has found a big bounce in primary-care visits in states that expanded Medicaid.

Earlier this month, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared that the HHS “reclassification rule” was invalid and hospitals could be considered “rural” in some circumstances and “urban” in others. 

A recent story in the Wall Street Journal examined this trend, providing numerous examples of patients saving more than $500 on procedures by simply paying in cash up front instead of going through insurance.