Vermont Blues opens wellness center to educate consumers about exchanges; Highmark fined $50K; Harvard Pilgrim delays entrance to Connecticut market

News From Around the Web:
> Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont has opened an information and wellness center to help educate consumers and assist them in selecting a plan available through the state's health insurance exchange, Fox44 reported. Article

> Highmark was fined $50,000 by the Pennsylvania insurance department for 10 violations, most of which were related to claims denials and failure to remedy those issues expediently, reported the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Article

> Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has delayed its entrance into the Connecticut health insurance market due to insufficient time to prepare for the reform law and other corporate strategy moves. Instead of launching plans in Connecticut by January 2014, Harvard Pilgrim is now aiming to introduce its plans by July, according to the Hartford Business Journal. Article

Health Provider News:
> Some relationships between physicians and pharmaceutical representatives have strayed from their original purpose so that they don't "necessarily serve the best interests of the patient in terms of economy, efficacy, safety or accuracy of information," finds a new report. Article

> Physician-led accountable care organizations slightly outnumber their hospital-based counterparts–and they may be superior at saving money. Article

Health IT News:
> Web-based pharmacist care can help hypertensive patients sustain low blood pressure, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Article

> The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange has launched a new initiative to bring together state collaborative organizations to help reduce the time and cost required for healthcare organizations to implement ICD-10. Article

> And finally…No hope for Christmas in July for these brothers. Article