Regulators
Restaurant ratings firm Zagat, WellPoint rate doctors
Seeing a doctor isn't quite the same as eating dinner, but that hasn't deterred restaurant ratings firm Zagat Survey from getting into the physician ratings business. Working with WellPoint, Zagat... Read more...
Aetna limits anemia drug payments
Anemia drug sales have taken a beating since Medicare tightened rules to limit when it would pay for them. Now, Aetna has set limits on anemia drug reimbursements too, issuing new rules that follow... Read more...
HHS gives health centers an anti-kickback break
HHS is giving federally-qualified community health centers a bit of a break. It has loosened up its its anti-kickback rules in a way which should make it easier for them to partner with hospitals,... Read more...
ALSO NOTED: MI keeps volume regs for open-heart programs; Senate approves mental health parity; and much more...
> Michigan hospital regulators have re-affirmed rules which require hospitals to perform at least 300 open-heart surgeries a year to maintain their programs. Read more...
Renal care companies settle with FTC
Two renal care companies have settled with the Federal Trade Commission on charges that they'd be teamed up to eliminate competition in Rhode Island and southeast Massachusetts. According to the... Read more...
MA physicians challenge retail clinic plan
If it gets its way, CVS will open up 30 or more MinuteClinics throughout the Boston, MA area in the near future. But it might not be so easy to do that. Under fire from physicians, state regulators... Read more...
States say insurer uses unfair practices
The state of Massachusetts is the latest to investigate health insurer HealthMarkets, contending that the company engaged in unfair business practices and deceived consumers by selling policies which... Read more...
N.C. law makes medical board info public
State medical boards collect some very sensitive information on doctors--and make it available through the National Practitioner Data Bank--but most won't let the public see the data. In North... Read more...
Stark rule revision released
It's another chapter in the continuing drama which is the evolution of Stark law provisions. This week, the key player is CMS, which has posted a final rule to its Web site which interprets Stark law... Read more...
SPOTLIGHT: How useful are provider rating sites?
Without a doubt, the healthcare industry and regulators have plunged into the transparency game with both feet, disclosing record volumes of pricing information and quality-of-care data on such... Read more...
