Following some congressional pressure, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is releasing a proposed rule (CMS-1454-P) to extend the Dec. 31, 2013 deadline of the safe harbor provision, which allows the donation of EHRs and other services to qualified entities, to Dec. 31, 2016. 

Billing and legal concerns can get in the way of clinical uses of documentation, according to a hearing held on the subject on February 14. The HIT Policy Committee discussed the hearing and its next moves during its April 3 meeting.

Despite the increase in EHR adoption and other gains driven by Meaningful Use (MU), implementation and meeting of reporting requirements is a costly, burdensome prospect. To address such concerns, during its April 3 meeting, the HIT Policy Committee’s MU work group discussed plans to consolidate quality measures and establish a deeming program that would reward good performance through reduced reporting requirements.

Fredericksburg, VA, April 05, 2013 -- Mary Washington Healthcare, along with other national, state and community organizations, is leading a massive effort to highlight the importance of advance healthcare decision-making—an effort that has culminated in the formal designation of Tuesday, April 16 as National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD).

Park City, Utah, April 05, 2013 -- Today, Zane Benefits, Inc. published new information on the Nevada Health Insurance Exchange. Zane Benefits, which provides comprehensive and flexible alternatives to traditional employer sponsored health benefits, is the leader in defined contribution and health reimbursement arrangements.

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 4, 2013 -- According to the White House, the U.S. spends $2.2 trillion each year in health care, and Americans spend more on health care than on food or housing.  An upward trend in health care cost is projected over the period of 2015-2021 at an average rate of 6.2 percent annually, reflecting the net result of the aging of the population, several provisions of the Affordable Care Act, and generally improving economic conditions reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  

SAN FRANCISCO, April 4, 2013 -- Ninety percent of Americans don't know when the new health insurance exchanges will open, according to a new survey released today by InsuranceQuotes.com.

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2013 -- The Community Oncology Alliance (COA), in conjunction with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), International Oncology Network/AmerisourceBergen, and the US Oncology Network, issued a joint statement on the crippling effects of sequestration cuts to cancer drugs and services which began April 1, 2013.  The organizations also sent letters to Health and Human Services (HHS), the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.  Sequestration cuts will apply not only to services physicians and others provide, but also to the fixed, pass-through costs of chemotherapy and related cancer-fighting drugs.  Community cancer care providers are struggling to survive in this unsustainable environment.