News From Around the Web
> Asthmapolis, a Madison, Wisc., start-up, will start working with Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Centers in San Diego, Calif., to use its mobile technology to help manage patients with asthma. David Van Sickle, chief executive and founder, said the company expects to enter more agreements with health systems this year, according to the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. Article
Health Payer News
> Although Indiana announced Thursday that individual health premiums would rise 72 percent throughout the state next year, that figure isn't completely accurate. The Indiana Department of Insurance said in a statement that individual plans could increase from $255 per month to $570 per month in 2014. The department further claimed the surge in prices results from reform law provisions, including requiring insurers to cover pre-existing conditions and provide minimum essential benefits, reported the Indianapolis Star. Article
> With less than 75 days till open enrollment begins for health insurance exchanges, time is running out for education, outreach and enrollment efforts. But states are hitting the ground running, according to a panel discussion at the World Congress 4th Annual Leadership Summit on Health Insurance Exchanges in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. In fact, 18 states have released request for proposalsrelated to consumer assistance and nine have awarded navigator or in-person assistor (IPA) grants so far. Article
Health Provider News
> A new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) debunks calls for geographic-based reimbursements and warns that tying Medicare payment rates to the benefits and costs of care in geographic regions would be "impractical." The IOM concludes quality varies widely within hospital referral regions and that utilization and spending don't always correlate to hospital referral regions. Hospitals within one hospital referral region are rarely uniformly high- or low-cost. Article
> The majority of U.S. hospitals do not have physicians at the helm, but that may be about to change thanks to the Affordable Care Act. Healthcare reform demands healthcare organizations turn their attention to quality care in addition to finances. But in order for greater price transparency, patient safety, cost effectiveness and accountability, physicians must serve in high-level leadership roles, according to Dallas/Fort Worth Healthcare Daily. Article
And Finally... Presidential solidarity between two pals. Article
