News From Around the Web
> Conflicting federal appeals court rulings last month--one said insurance subsidies are unconstitutional in states that don't run their own exchanges; another said the subsidies are permitted--could have a greater impact on South Carolinians who bought health insurance policies through the Affordable Care Act, according to The State. Uncertainty in health care budgeting isn't unusual, but with the ever-changing rules under the ACA, "it has escalated," said Pam Gallagher, chief financial officer of Columbia's Providence Hospitals. Article
> Highmark, Inc., said Saturday that it would stop covering laparoscopic power morcellation, a procedure performed with a gynecological surgical tool that can spread cancer. Article
> Former Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, a Democrat, slammed the administration's ObamaCare rollout, calling President Obama's claim that people could keep their insurance plans under the law a "lie." Never one to pull punches--even when aimed at his own party--Frank said he was "appalled" at the rollout. "I don't understand how the president could have sat there and not been checking on that on a weekly basis," Frank told Huffington Post. Article
Provider News
> To become successful and stand out in a competitive healthcare industry, hospitals must encourage a culture of personal accountability and complete ownership, from the bosses in the C-suite to the front-line workers administering medication, Joe Tye, CEO of Values Coach Inc., writes in Hospitals & Health Networks. Article
> Shortening the time it takes to get a medical degree would lessen newly-minted doctors' debt burden without compromising quality of care, according to the New York Times. Article
> Contrary to conventional wisdom, healthcare providers may want to invest in physicians who are slackers. Article
HealthIT News
> In an effort to predict where the physician shortage will hit the hardest, researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill have developed a web-based model to determine how many physicians each region, state and the nation needs. Article
And Finally... Memo to incoming interns: "Show up on your first day of work dirty and shoeless and crusted in blood." Article