News From Around the Web
> Small business organizations sent a letter to ranking Republican members this week to urge the passage of bipartisan legislation that will provide relief to small businesses for rising healthcare costs. As noted in the letter, premiums for small businesses increased 25 percent from 2009 to 2014. Letter (.pdf)
> While value on investment is important for any insurer to thrive, Stuart Slutzky, chief of product innovation for Humana Vitality, told an audience in Chicago this week that health and lifestyle improvement also matter to insurers, reports MedCity News. Article
> Senate members proposed a bill this week to repeal the excise tax on high-cost employer-sponsored plans under the Affordable Care Act. The Cadillac Tax, as it's commonly called, is set to go into effect in 2017. Bill (.pdf)
Health IT News
> The concept of pulmonary insufficiency in ICD-10 could cost the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and taxpayers billions of dollars in waste, according to consultant Robert S. Gold, M.D. Article
> University of Chicago researchers have developed a computational model to improve the allocation of U.S. biomedical research resources. Article
And finally … That sure stings like a bee. Article