News From Around the Web
> The Massachusetts Medical Society has adopted final changes to regulations that would implement state law requiring physicians to demonstrate proficiency in electronic health records and the skills to meet the Meaningful Use requirements. The rule is slated to go into effect Jan. 1, 2015. Website
> The need for EHR vendor support and involvement varies throughout the world, according to a new report from Orem, Utah-based research firm KLAS. This variability is a major factor in the differences in provider satisfaction of their EHR systems. Announcement
Health Finance News
> The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to hear whether taxpayer subsidies to purchase commercial healthcare coverage are legal may wind up negatively impacting for-profit, publicly traded hospitals. The Supreme Court's decision to hear King v. Burwell late last week was a negative for hospital stocks, which could wind up having to treat millions of uninsured Americans who would have had coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Article
> Admitting that payment policies regarding short-term hospital stays are "ambiguous and open to interpretation" and could place a large financial burden on patients, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has suggested creating specific diagnosis related groups (DRGs) that would focus on one-day admissions to inpatient care facilities. MedPAC made the proposal last week at its November public meeting. Article
Health Insurance News
> With the second open enrollment period starting Saturday for health plans sold pursuant to the Affordable Care Act, states are scrambling to improve performance of their exchanges and bolster customer support. The goal is to prevent a repeat of last year's enrollment bottlenecks. Article
> If the U.S. Supreme Court rules next year that the Affordable Care Act subsidies aren't legal, it could make health insurance unaffordable for millions of consumers. But could states save the healthcare reform law? The high court agreed last week to hear a case challenging the legality of federal subsidies, which could dramatically impact the future of healthcare reform. At issue is whether Congress intended to allow subsidies for consumers shopping on the federal health insurance exchange in addition to state-run marketplaces. Article
And Finally... I sure hope the government didn't fund this study. Article