cmonfils | October 13, 2011
www.modernhealthcare.com
By Joseph Conn October 3, 2011
It’s two years now and counting down, until Oct. 1, 2013. That’s when, according to experts, the information technology sector of the U.S. healthcare industry must make, quite possibly, its biggest lift ever—ready or not.
“It’s a big, big date,” says health IT consultant Stanley Nachimson. “Bigger than Y2K or 4010 or 5010 or any of the HIPAA implementations. It will impact everything from patient registration to reporting. It’s a big deal.” (more…)
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cmonfils | October 13, 2011
www.modernehealthcare.com
By David May October 3, 2011
As if we need any reminders, it’s painfully clear that the U.S. healthcare system continues to grapple with some serious health issues.
Yet another batch of recent reports reaffirms the fact that Americans are paying far too much for their care and health coverage and getting too little quality in return—trends that have been at work for decades. (more…)
Category: Health Insurance, News |
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cmonfils | October 12, 2011
www.modernhealthcare.com
By Modern Healthcare October 3, 2011
Select Medical Holdings Corp., which operates 81 specialty and long-term acute-care hospitals in states across the country, has agreed to settle fraud allegations and enter a corporate integrity agreement. HHS’ inspector general’s office published the five-year integrity agreement, while records on file in the U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, show the company has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to resolve the allegations of a former employee, Beatrix Maitland. (more…)
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cmonfils | October 12, 2011
www.ebnbenefitnews@e.benefitnews.com
by Elizabeth T. Dold
The IRS recently issued Notice 2011‐72 and a Memorandum for All Field Examination Operations, which provide a road‐map for employers to avoid taxing employees on cell phone expenses. Following the de‐listing of cell phones as “listed property” from Code section 274(d) last year, there has continued to be some uncertainty on the proper tax treatment of employer‐provided cell phones (and reimbursements of cell phone costs). This guidance, summarized below, clarifies the proper tax treatment and is retroactively effective for cell phone use after December 31, 2009. (more…)
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cmonfils | October 11, 2011
www.myhealthguide.com
MyHealthGuide Source: : PRNewswire, 9/29/2011, Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH)
Editor’s Comment: Thanks to readers correcting us on the article heading omitting “Not“. The first two readers were Avi Smith, Benefits Manager, B & H Photo and Amy O’Neill, Account Analyst, Healthcare Management Administrators (HMA). (more…)
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cmonfils | October 3, 2011
www.myhealthguide.com
MyHealthGuide Source: : PRNewswire, 9/29/2011, Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH)
Few employers have a thorough understanding of specialty pharmacy benefits, and only a fraction are of them are aggressively managing what is becoming one of the fastest-growing areas of health care spending, a new survey shows.
A national survey released Sept. 29 by the nonprofit Midwest Business Group on Health in Chicago, one of the nation’s largest business coalitions, found: (more…)
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cmonfils | September 26, 2011
www.myhealthguide.com
MyHealthGuide Source:
Jerry Geisel, 9/21/2011,
Business Insurance Article
Employers project that their group health care plan costs will increase an average of 5.4% in 2012, a somewhat smaller increase compared with recent years, according to the Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans. The preliminary survey results were compiled from approximately 1,600 employer responses. (more…)
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cmonfils | September 26, 2011
www.myhealthguide.com
MyHealthGuide Source: Mallory Gillikin, 9/20/2011, www.BusinessInsurance.com
Business Insurance released its ranking of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit managers. (more…)
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cmonfils | September 26, 2011
www.myhealthguide.com
MyHealthGuide Source: Mark Perry, 9/20/2011, Daily Markets Article and www.mdlivecare.com
Detroit — “Michiganians who have an urgent medical question, lack insurance or just want access to a doctor and prescription after hours can increasingly reach for their phones or computers for an instant chat or webcam conversation with a physician or nurse. Telemedicine and telehealth — the practice of medicine using electronic communication between a physician in one location and a patient in another — is growing in popularity in the state and across the country. (more…)
Category: Michigan, News |
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cmonfils | September 26, 2011
A lawsuit filed last week against St. Peter’s Hospital by an uninsured patient is taking aim at the discounts that hospitals provide for health insurers, saying that such arrangements illegally fix prices and discriminate against the uninsured by sticking them with higher rates while doing nothing to reduce overall health care costs. (more…)
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cmonfils | September 19, 2011
TO: CLAC members
FROM: Steve Lutes
RE: Meeting follow-up
The Chamber’s Corporate Leadership Advisory Council met September 14 in Washington, DC. We had solid attendance and an engaged group. We also welcomed the new chair of the council – Shannon Greene, Treasurer & CFO of Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas. It was an opportunity to thank our outgoing chair – Ray Pinard, President & CEO of 48HourPrint.com – for his outstanding leadership as well as his many efforts to carry the Chamber’s message on several important issues to Capitol Hill and in the media. (more…)
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cmonfils | September 16, 2011
www.aishealth.com
Featured Health Business Daily Story, Sept. 13, 2011, and in Government News of the Week, Sept. 5, 2011
Reprinted from HEALTH PLAN WEEK, the most reliable source of objective business, financial and regulatory news of the health insurance industry.
By Jonathan Block, Editor – September 5, 2011 – Volume 21 Issue 31
Insurers have begun cutting commissions to agents and brokers in order to comply with the health reform law-mandated medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements that went into effect on Jan. 1, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released Aug. 29. And several agents and brokers interviewed by HPW say that their bottom lines have been squeezed as a result. (more…)
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cmonfils | September 11, 2011
Modern Healthcare September 5, 2011-09-09
Melanie Evans
Hospitals calculating costs following hurricane
The full weight of costs that Hurricane Irene dropped on East Coast hospitals won’t be known for weeks or months, even though most escaped without significant damage.
New York hospitals that emptied out before the storm quickly reopened, but many beds remained vacant. In Maryland, a hospital laboratory flooded through a damaged roof. Hospital workers in Vermont moved into nearby hotels after storm damage lengthened commutes from 30 minutes to three hours. (more…)
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cmonfils | September 11, 2011
Business Insurance = September 5, 2011
By: Joanne Wojcik
A company doesn’t have to be a member of the Fortune 500 to take advantage of captive insurance.
Ask David Bernstein, president of Mid-State Lumber Corp. in Branchburg, N.J., a privately held middle-market building products firm with approximately $100 million in annual sales and 95 employees. (more…)
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cmonfils | September 9, 2011
A GPA Customer Announcement
We are pleased to announce that we have extended our partnership with The Phia Group, a leading healthcare cost containment and consulting firm, to support our Plan Document services. GPA has had the pleasure of working with The Phia Group for more than 10 years of subrogation and claims recovery services. (more…)
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