News From Around the Web
> Maryland lawmakers have passed legislation that requires insurers to cover in vitro fertilization services for married same-sex couples, according to Kaiser Health News. Article
> The Louisiana State University system has asked the Biomedical Research Foundation to step down as the private operator of two University Health hospitals in Shreveport and Monroe, Louisiana. Biomedical Research so far has refused to do so, meaning the impasse could likely lead to litigation, the Shreveport Times has reported. Article
> Medicaid expansion in Arkansas led to a nearly 49 percent decrease in the number of uninsured patients admitted to the state's hospitals last year, the Arkansas News has reported. Article
Provider News
> A significant amount of the healthcare administered each year to patients in the United States is unnecessary, expensive and ends up doing more harm than good, says Robert Pearl, M.D., in an essay for Forbes. Pearl, CEO of The Permanente Medical Group, outlines four ways to reduce unnecessary patient care, ultimately saving families and providers money, and empowering patients by giving them options in their care plans. Article
Healthcare IT News
> The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, via its proposed physician fee schedule for 2016, offers to expand telehealth payments and notes that federally qualified health centers (FQHC) and rural health clinics (RHC) will be eligible to use new chronic care management codes if they comply with outlined health IT requirements. Article
And Finally... World's ugliest dog. Article