News From Around the Web
> The busy healthcare M&A trend is alive in Illinois, where Edward Hospital & Health Services and Elmhurst Memorial Hospital signed a letter of intent to merge, both organizations announced yesterday. The merger would create a three-hospital, integrated health system. Announcement (.pdf)
> Hospitals serve as a major source of jobs in Kansas, directly employing 81,931 people and supporting another 61,855 jobs in other sectors, according to a new report from the Kansas Hospital Association. Statement (.pdf)
Provider News
> Thanks to a series of new codes created by the American Medical Association's CPT Editorial Panel, physicians can now bill for much of the previously unreimbursed care-coordination work they've done. Medicare now covers codes 99495 and 99496 for transitional care. Article
> Physicians received clarity last week about their right to ask patients about gun ownership. President Obama signed an executive order promising further guidance, explaining that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit or regulate communication about firearms between clinicians and patients. Article
And Finally… Most embarrassing reprimand letter to an employee. Article