News From Around the Web
> After Oregon allowed insurers to reinstate canceled plans, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon began contacting affected customers with renewal offers. However, it also called about 1,400 customers in Clark County, Wash., where the state insurance commissioner did not allow insurers to extend canceled policies, according to The Oregonian. Article
> A McPherson County, Kan., judge on Wednesday ordered a nurse to repay Aflac $80,000 in fraudulent medical claims for fictitious injuries and health conditions, as well as serve two years of probation, the Kansas Insurance Department announced. Announcement (.pdf)
> The Office of Inspector General found that because hospitals used incorrect patient discharge status codes on their claims suggesting they discharged patients home or to certain types of healthcare institutions rather than transferred them to post-acute care, Noridian Healthcare Solutions--the Medicare contractor for some hospitals in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington--overpaid the hospitals by $1.1 million from June 2009 through August 2012. Report
Health Finance News
> Hospital and healthcare system executives lobbied Capitol Hill this week and asked for the end to what they described as "arbitrary" funding cuts to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Article
> While rising hospital prices have consumers calling for improved pricing transparency, some healthcare leaders say the high charges are necessary to offset the cost of uncompensated care and provide quality services, according to a New York Times column. Article
And Finally... Now that's a McDonald's Happy Meal. Article