The government's release of first-year cost-savings results for its accountable care organization (ACO) project and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center delivery system reform pilot projects have drawn criticism from both the New York Times and the Washington Post, which published articles pointing out the problems with drawing conclusions from studies that are not true randomized controlled trials. In short, correlation is not causation, and the early results, while interesting, are not the same as proof that ACOs and new reimbursement methods like bundled payments actually deliver better care more cheaply. In a commentary, Bloomberg News summarized the controversy.

Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Angus King (I-Maine) announced legislation that would limit FDA’s regulatory oversight to focus on products that pose the greatest health risks.

The H.R. 4015/S. 2000, SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2014, bills also contain provisions that impact more than just physician pay. Among the provisions tucked inside the bill are these five.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is giving eligible professionals an additional month to attest to Meaningful Use for the Medicare EHR incentive program 2013 reporting period. The announcement effectively pushes back the deadline from Feb. 28 to March 31.

Two of the biggest federal mandates facing providers this year were in the news this week—for good and bad reasons.

Clinical decision support, patient engagement, care coordination and population management are the four areas of special emphasis reflected in Meaningful Use Stage 3 draft recommendations, Paul Tang, MD, MS, Palo Alto Medical Foundation and chair of the MU workgroup, said at the Health IT Policy Committee meeting on Feb. 4.

A Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decision to delay the date when Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs) will start looking for inpatient claims that should have been billed as outpatient observation because of their short duration (less than a day defined as two midnights in the hospital) will buy hospitals and the groups that represent them time to fight CMS-1599-F (commonly known as the “2-Midnight Rule”).

Less than 10 percent of physician practices reported that they had made significant progress when rating their overall readiness for ICD-10 implementation, up only slightly (from 4.7 percent) since June 2013, when the Medical Group Management Association previously assessed readiness levels.