When the state's public health exchange launches in October, it will be confusing, a little clunky and time-consuming, say the people overseeing the launch. Wednesday, they met to focus on how to make it easier. Access Health CT's chief executive, Kevin Counihan, said that he expects "low satisfaction" among consumers at the start of the health exchange and that it could be up to three years before that turns around. As part of the Affordable Care Act, private health insurance plans for coverage will be for sale starting Oct. 1 in an online marketplace known as a public health exchange. The coverage will begin Jan. 1.
A Bethesda doctor must pay the government more than $17 million in fines for allegedly submitting false Medicare and Medicaid claims and double-billing for nuclear stress test studies. On Tuesday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia entered judgement for the money against Dr. Ishtiaq Malik, a nuclear cardiologist who practices in D.C. The federal government says Malik double-billed for the nuclear stress tests by categorizing the stress and rest phases, which can be conducted over multiple days, as two separate tests. The test must be coded and submitted as one test.
AUSTIN — Thousands of women have dropped out of a health care program since the state altered it seven months ago in a fight over Planned Parenthood, state statistics show. Since the state began operating its own Texas Women's Health Program, claims have dropped 23 percent, or about 4,000 visits monthly. The state broke from a Medicaid-funded program because federal rules allowed Planned Parenthood to deliver health services. Some Texas leaders insisted no organization that was affiliated with abortion providers should be allowed in the program. The effort was designed to cut off funding from Planned Parenthood, which was the largest provider of women's health services, but which also operated separate, privately funded abortion clinics. The program provides services such as cancer screenings.
The deal that would bring a state-of-the-art academic children's hospital to the San Antonio Medical Center has collapsed. The University of Texas Health Science Center and the Baptist Health System were to work with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to build a new pediatric research and teaching hospital. But word came late Tuesday that CHOP will no longer be participating in the consortium because of competition in Philadelphia between CHOP and another company. "That caught us all by surprise," said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. He said pediatricians at UTHSC are now in limbo.
A new information-sharing company called Data Commons is expected to ease the electronic exchange of physician profile information after it launches its product this fall. To make this data exchange possible, Data Commons is using the Healthcare Professional Profile of MedBiquitous, a nonprofit standards development organization (SDO) started by Johns Hopkins in 2001. Among the founding members of Data Commons are the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFP), the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP), the Association of American Colleges (AAMC), the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), and the National Board of Medical Examiners.
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Weekend employees in the Huntsville Hospital system are facing a 50 cent per hour reduction in pay. The savings may be up to $500,000 annually, according to Jeff Samz, chief operating officer at Huntsville Hospital. Samz confirmed to The Huntsville Times/al.com today that the changes will affect 348 employees. The changes will go into effect Oct. 13 and will affect only employees at Huntsville Hospital facilities in Madison County. Samz said Huntsville Hospital has a program for employees who work every weekend to receive a higher rate of pay. The pay scale for working a shift outside of the weekend will not be affected.