Halamka expects interoperability to be 'real' by 2014; 6 state health exchanges win early approval;

News from Around the Web

> The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently released a draft of its ICD-10 Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Groups definitions manual, ICD10Watch reports. MS-DRGs will drive reimbursements, according to the post. Post

> Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center CIO and FierceHealthIT Advisory Board member John Halamka says he expects that Meaningful Use Stage 2 will enable electronic health records to talk to each other by 2014, in a blog post written this week. "Do I expect that every provider will be connected to a Nationwide Health Information Network by 2014? No," he says. "[But] with certified technology, standards and incentives to share data among providers and patients, 2013-14 will usher in a new era of interoperability." Post

Health Insurance News

> The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has granted early approval for six states to operate health insurance exchanges. Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington all have Democratic governors and were the first of 14 states to submit their plans to operate an exchange. Article

Health Finance News

> Citing financial burdens, states are asking for flexibility on expanding their Medicaid programs as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act--a position that the Obama Administration has rejected. Article

And Finally… When it comes to the number 12, nobody has this kid beat. Article