Court denies state law claims tied to Anthem data breach; Nearly 395K sign up for ACA plans during fourth week of open enrollment;

News From Around the Web

> A U.S. District Court has ruled that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act preempts state law claims arising from Anthem's data breach, Bloomberg BNA reports. Article

> The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will not be able to charge higher out-of-network rates to members of Highmark's Medicare Advantage plans, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Article

> Almost 395,000 people selected Affordable Care Act health plans through the federal marketplace in the fourth week of open enrollment, and more than 2 million have selected plans since the signup period began Nov. 1, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Announcement

Health IT News

> To protect sensitive patient data, healthcare organizations must first understand its value, according to Kevin Stine, manager of the Information Technology Laboratory (Security Outreach and Integration) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Article

Practice Management News

> In the face of proposed changes to link U.S. Department of Health and Human Services payments to quality measures my 2018, more than half of the respondents to a recent survey indicated they were actively pursuing or developing capabilities around value-based payments for their practices. Article

And finally... Who says lightning doesn't strike twice? Article