News From Around the Web
> Maryland and the federal government will collaborate on a new initiative to streamline and modernize the state's hospital rate-setting model, the Associated Press reports. Article
> The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote today on a measure pertaining to the security of the HealthCare.gov website, the Washington Post reports. Article
> Ed McGeachey, president and CEO of Southern Maine Health Care, formed from the merger of two Maine healthcare organizations, says the closure and consolidation of several of its facilities will result in about $2 million in annual savings, according to the Portland Press Herald. Article
Health Finance News
> The jury is still out on whether accountable care organizations (ACOs) will cut healthcare costs, but ACOs are betting that close monitoring of the sickest patients can avert at least some costly emergency department or hospital stays. Article
Health Payer News
> The all-you-can-eat model of supplemental Medigap plans increases Medicare's costs by encouraging more unnecessary tests and procedures, according to economists at the University of Texas and the University of Chicago, who examined the relationship between Medigap coverage and Medicare spending, Kaiser Health News reported. Article