News from Around the Web
> Florida's Medicaid 'reform' project, which required all beneficiaries in five counties to enroll in managed care, succeeded in curbing health inflation just as state officials had hoped, a new study reports. Announcement
> Medicaid providers in Alaska say a faulty claims processing system has put them on shaky financial ground as they await payments held up for months, reported the Alaska Dispatch. Claims submitted as early as September 2013 have yet to be paid. Article
Finance News
> The Affordable Care Act has become the policy equivalent of cheese-stuffed pizza crust or reality show housewives, writes FierceHealthFinance editor Ron Shinkman in this week's column. "The American public disapproves of their existence while simultaneously ensuring they endure. For that, providers should breathe a sigh of relief," he writes. Commentary
> A former hospital executive faces more than three years in prison for accepting kickbacks from the facility's equipment vendors, according to the Associated Press. During his tenure as CEO/administrator of Madison Parish Hospital in Tallulah, La., Charles W. Alford received more than $1 million in kickback payments from a Texas healthcare equipment firm and a Monroe, La.-based insurance company. Article
Health IT News
> The U.S. healthcare system isn't a catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina, but it's a slow boil, Karen DeSalvo, National Coordinator for Health IT, said Thursday during Health Care Innovation Day in Washington, D.C. "The pain is greater and greater, breaking the bank for many Americans," she said. Health IT interoperability, she said, will help stem rising healthcare costs. Article
And Finally... Fox News thinks Obama created this Twitter handle to distract from HealthCare.gov problems. Article