News alerts from HealthcareFinanceNews.com http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com en-us Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:29:06 EDT Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:29:06 EDT HealthcareFinanceNews.com 1 The Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy (HCFP) has released a report showing that more than 439,000 people have enrolled in private or subsidized health insurance programs between the beginning of health reform in June 2006, and March 31, 2008. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8517&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8517&fromRSS=true Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Eighteen California hospital will face $25,000 fines after state officials determined that violations of their requirements of licensure has caused, or are likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8516&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8516&fromRSS=true Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT With a grant from the Federal Communications Commission, the Colorado Hospital Association will develop a telehealth network throughout the state of Colorado. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8515&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8515&fromRSS=true Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT The Medical Group Management Association, which represents 21,500 members, says the government's proposed Oct 1, 2011 deadline for the healthcare industry to convert from ICD-9 code sets to ICD-10 is too short. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8513&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8513&fromRSS=true Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Hackensack University Medical Center, a non-profit research and teaching hospital in New Jersey, has filed an application for transfer of ownership of all Pascack Valley Hospital licenses to a joint venture to be formed by HUMC and Plano, Texas, based-Legacy Hospital Partners, Inc. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8512&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8512&fromRSS=true Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT A recent study suggests that an increase in prescription co-payments could negatively impact medication adherence, especially in low-income areas. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8511&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8511&fromRSS=true Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Electronic health records and staffing shortages are on the minds of hospital executives, physicians and nurses, according to a recent poll conducted by healthcare technology company Picis. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8510&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8510&fromRSS=true Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT RelayHealth has announced that Regence, the largest health insurer in the Northwest/Intermountain region, will implement the company's ProPBM software to support the management of pharmacy benefit accounts in Oregon, Washington, Utah and Idaho, as well as nationwide accounts. Read about this and other business news, contracts and new products in this week's Vendor Notebook. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8507&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8507&fromRSS=true Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey is considering converting to a for-profit company. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8506&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8506&fromRSS=true Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT In an effort to help members better manage their acute and chronic diseases, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield will use a care management system from The TriZetto Group. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8505&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8505&fromRSS=true Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT As part of a multi-year contract with San Ramon, Ca.-based Keane, Inc., The Johns Hopkins Hospital plans to implement a full admission, discharge and transfer solution and make upgrades to its back-end revenue cycle management. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8504&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8504&fromRSS=true Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT In a move that heralds sweeping change in how medical bills are coded, the Department of Health and Human Services has announced a proposed regulation to change the ICD-9 code sets with ICD-10 code sets, effective Oct. 1, 2011. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8503&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8503&fromRSS=true Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT As Medicare's Part D prescription drug program enters its fourth year, government officials say the program has been a success. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8500&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8500&fromRSS=true Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT The Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, announced Friday the completion of its merger with MEDecision, a Wayne, pa.-based provider of healthcare management services. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8499&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8499&fromRSS=true Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT The Amerigroup Corporation, a Virginia Beach, Va.-based health insurer, will pay $225 million to settle fraud allegations against the Illinois Medicaid program. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8498&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8498&fromRSS=true Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT As information is digitized in healthcare, there's greater risk in the transmission and storage of confidential medical and financial information. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8497&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8497&fromRSS=true Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT An electronic exchange specializing in healthcare and a provider of payment processing solutions and services say they are teaming up in efforts to speed the invoice-to-payment process for hospitals. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8496&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8496&fromRSS=true Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Thursday that all physician groups participating in the Physician Group Practice Demonstration have earned $16.7 million in incentive payments for improving the quality of care delivered to chronic disease patients. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8495&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8495&fromRSS=true Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT A recent survey suggests that many Americans have cut back on medical care spending to save money. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8494&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8494&fromRSS=true Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Hospital patients looking for an easier way to plan out their payments - and hospitals looking for a better way to collect them - might benefit from a recently announced partnership between two providers of electronic payment solutions. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8493&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8493&fromRSS=true Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT URAC has approved revisions to nine of its healthcare management accreditation programs. The standards require the use of national quality measures and stress greater efficiency in the healthcare system. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8492&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8492&fromRSS=true Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said Tuesday that he would like to see chartered value exchanges (CVEs) increase from 14 nationwide to 25 by January. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8490&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8490&fromRSS=true Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT The CVS Caremark Corporation has signed a $2.9 billion deal to acquire the Longs Drug Stores Corporation, a retail drug store chain serving the West Coast and Hawaii. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8489&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8489&fromRSS=true Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT According to a recent survey, employers plan to increase their staffs' role in long-term strategies in an effort to control prescription drug costs. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8488&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8488&fromRSS=true Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT A company that has developed an application that enables point-of-sale customer financial service in healthcare has raised $1.7 million through the sale of preferred stock. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8487&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8487&fromRSS=true Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Safety net providers struggling with an increase in the uninsured are looking for creative ways to shore up their margins, according to a study released Tuesday by the Center for Studying Health System Change and published in Health Affairs. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8484&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8484&fromRSS=true Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee will pay $2.1 million to the United States to settle allegations over Medicare charges in New Jersey. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8483&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8483&fromRSS=true Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT The federal government is making headway in assisting the Indian Health Service to register tribe members for Medicare and Medicaid services, according to an August 7 report by the General Accountability Office (GAO). http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8482&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8482&fromRSS=true Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT A state noted for a difficult financial environment for hospitals is promising to give facilities some cushion, but the assistance will come with some tradeoffs. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8479&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8479&fromRSS=true Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Conseco, Inc. has announced plans to transfer the Conseco Senior Health Insurance Company to an independent trust for the benefit of its long-term care policyholders. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8478&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8478&fromRSS=true Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT QuadraMed has announced that the Los Altos Hills, Calif.-based Daughters of Charity Health System has signed a $15.8 million contract to expand the use of QuadraMed CPR (QCPR) across its five-hospital network. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8477&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8477&fromRSS=true Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT U.S. Preventive Medicine of Jacksonville, Fla. has announced that the City of Tempe, Ariz. has extended its contract with the company to provide disease management services to employees with asthma or diabetes who are covered under the city's PPO medical plan. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8476&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8476&fromRSS=true Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is launching a two-state pilot program to provide online personal health records. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8475&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8475&fromRSS=true Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT With a state budget crisis threatening the ability of community health centers to deliver services, the California HealthCare Foundation is chipping in $10 million to a low-interest loan pool designed to ensure clinics are able to provide uninterrupted care. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8473&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8473&fromRSS=true Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT The Los Angeles city attorney and federal officials have filed charges against three hospitals, their executives and several others, charging that they recruited homeless individuals to receive unnecessary hospital treatment and then billed government programs for millions of dollars. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8472&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8472&fromRSS=true Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Medicare is doing a poor job in screening suppliers of durable medical equipment, after failing a recent test to identify two fake suppliers set up as a test by a government agency. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8471&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8471&fromRSS=true Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Life sciences companies globally are turning to e-clinical solutions in order to improve inefficiencies and cut costs during the most expensive phase of drug development, says a new report. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8470&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8470&fromRSS=true Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Combating medical infections in healthcare settings is proving to be profitable for Cardinal Health, which is considering splitting its clinical and medical products units off from the troubled - and much larger - drug distribution business. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8469&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8469&fromRSS=true Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT National health insurer Humana, Inc. has signed a $245 million deal with Knoxville, Tenn.-based Covenant Health to acquire its subsidiary, PHP Companies, Inc., which does business as Cariten Healthcare. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8468&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8468&fromRSS=true Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Americans are so dissatisfied with their healthcare system that 82 percent think it should be rebuilt, according to a new survey by The Commonwealth Fund. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8467&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8467&fromRSS=true Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT In hopes of reaping both economical and environmental benefits, Marshall Medical Center in Cameron Park, Calif., will install a photovoltaic solar system to power its campus. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8463&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8463&fromRSS=true Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Managed healthcare company Molina Healthcare Inc., has signed a $42 million deal to acquire Florida NetPASS, LLC, to further extend itself into the Medicaid market. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8462&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8462&fromRSS=true Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT The lack of health insurance is preventing more than 11 million Americans from receiving care for chronic illnesses, according to results of a study released yesterday. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8458&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8458&fromRSS=true Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries (KFHP/H) reported total operating revenue of $10.1 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2008, compared to $9.4 billion in the same period last year. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8457&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8457&fromRSS=true Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Through the Calhoun County "Pathways to Health" initiative, the community of Battle Creek, Mich., has been refining and applying a chronic care model to improve clinical outcomes, boost health and reduce healthcare costs. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8455&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8455&fromRSS=true Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Medicare plans to increase the pressure on hospitals to improve quality, and hopes that state Medicaid programs will jump on board as well. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8452&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8452&fromRSS=true Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) reiterated its opposition to the merger of Pittsburgh-based Highmark, Inc. and Independence Blue Cross, during testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8451&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8451&fromRSS=true Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT MedeFinance, an Emeryville, Calif.-based provider of healthcare performance analytics solutions, has secured $50 million in funding, led by Bain Capital Ventures, with additional reinvestment from certain of the company's existing investors. The company plans to use the money to fund new growth initiatives and acquisition opportunities. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8450&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8450&fromRSS=true Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT Dealing with decreased payments from Medicare and insurers was cited as the biggest concern of healthcare providers in a recent survey by data and network service provider IVANS, Inc. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8448&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8448&fromRSS=true Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT According to a final regulation published Thursday, hospices serving Medicare beneficiaries will see an estimated 2.5 percent increase in their payments for 2009. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8447&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8447&fromRSS=true Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT A household survey sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Center for Health Statistics shows U.S. healthcare costs should approach $2.4 trillion this year. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8446&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8446&fromRSS=true Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services set new nursing home payment rates for 2009 and issued a final rule to on payment for services for people who need the intensive rehabilitation services provided by Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities, or IRFs. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8445&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8445&fromRSS=true Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT "Claims scrubbing" might sound like something that requires a bucket of soapy water and a good sponge, but for medical billing services and physician organizations it's a valuable technology designed to reduce errors and speed up reimbursement. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8449&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8449&fromRSS=true Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT The growth of retail clinics and medical tourism shows that patients are seeking more alternative means of care and at lower costs - a trend that may be an opportunity for providers to shift toward a model of consumer-driven care, researchers say. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8443&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8443&fromRSS=true Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Insurance software and e-commerce provider Ebix, Inc. has signed a deal to acquire Pittsburgh based-Acclamation Systems, a provider of SaaS-based healthcare benefits and claims management software. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8442&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8442&fromRSS=true Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Kaiser Permanente has approved more than 415 community benefit grants and donations totaling approximately $22 million during the second quarter of 2008. Funding will support community programs to encourage better health and improve care and insurance coverage. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8438&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8438&fromRSS=true Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT The Medical Banking Project and the Automotive Industry Action Group are renewing commitments to work together on a variety of projects intended to involve banks in the healthcare industry. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8437&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8437&fromRSS=true Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT The South Carolina Hospital Association has partnered with Nashville, Tenn.-based nTelagent, Inc. in an effort to reduce bad debt and increase front-end collections for member hospitals. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8436&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8436&fromRSS=true Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT The City of New Orleans Emergency Medical Services agency has signed a $4 million contract with Affiliated Computer Services for an electronic patient records capture system. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8435&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8435&fromRSS=true Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota says it is eliminating co-pays for members who use retail clinics. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8434&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8434&fromRSS=true Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT GE Healthcare Financial Services has signed a $75 million deal to provide a senior secured credit facility to The Schumacher Group, an emergency medicine management firm based in Lafayette, La. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8432&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8432&fromRSS=true Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT A Houston-based provider of electronic medical records software designed specifically for mental and behavioral health providers is adding electronic claims processing to its platform. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8431&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8431&fromRSS=true Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Potentially preventable medical errors that occur during or after surgery may cost employers nearly $1.5 billion a year, according to new estimates by the Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8430&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8430&fromRSS=true Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT In a bipartisan battle over how to protect Medicare's future, the House passed a measure last week to prevent President Bush from going forward with a proposed Medicare savings plan. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8428&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8428&fromRSS=true Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT The Aecon Group, Inc., Canada's largest publicly traded construction and infrastructure development company, has completed negotiations for the renovation and expansion of Toronto Rehabilitation Institute's University Centre. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8427&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8427&fromRSS=true Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, plans to introduce legislation this week designed to expose physicians who overuse self-referred imaging services under Medicare. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8426&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8426&fromRSS=true Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT MphasiS Healthcare Solutions/Eldorado of Phoenix has announced a partnership with NavigatorMD to use claims data from HEALTHpac and Javelina to improve health plan design and management. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8425&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8425&fromRSS=true Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT A federal judge has approved a $255 million settlement against Health Net Inc. and several regional subsidiaries to settle three class action suits charging that it improperly reimbursed members for claims when they went to out-of-network providers. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8424&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8424&fromRSS=true Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Federal intervention will be needed if the United States hopes to advance nationwide healthcare IT adoption, according to Congressional Budget Office Director Peter Orszag. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8423&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8423&fromRSS=true Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT A new bill seeks to support the use of patients' homes and community-based services as care sites, potentially providing several different financing incentives to the healthcare system. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8422&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8422&fromRSS=true Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Lester E. Cox Medical Centers, a not-for-profit healthcare system headquartered in Springfield, Mo., has agreed to pay $60 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Statute between 1996 and 2005. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8421&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8421&fromRSS=true Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT In an effort to increase the use of energy-efficient technology, the Department of Energy has launched the EnergySmart Hospitals initiative at the annual meeting of the American Society for Healthcare Engineering. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8419&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8419&fromRSS=true Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT In an effort to increase the use of energy-efficient technology, the Department of Energy has launched the EnergySmart Hospitals initiative at the annual meeting of the American Society for Healthcare Engineering. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8418&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8418&fromRSS=true Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT A representative of the largest medical specialty organization in the United States told Congress Thursday that mandating the use of healthcare IT in the absence of positive financial incentives for physicians would likely drive small physician practices out of business. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8417&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8417&fromRSS=true Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Finance, has proposed an overhaul of the Medicare physician payment system to prevent geographic adjusters from penalizing doctors in Iowa and other rural parts of the country. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8416&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8416&fromRSS=true Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT A new report shows that alcohol-related problems take a $38.4 billion toll annually on the state of California. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8415&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8415&fromRSS=true Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Faced with sagging stock prices and running out of assets to sell off, MedAvant Healthcare Solutions has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8409&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8409&fromRSS=true Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Eight Iowa hospitals would be given better treatment by the Medicare program and be put in a stronger position to provide healthcare services under legislation introduced Tuesday by Sen. Charles Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Finance. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8398&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8398&fromRSS=true Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said Monday his department will do all it can to promote the use of electronic prescribing as a way to launch widespread use of healthcare IT. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8397&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8397&fromRSS=true Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT With a depressed economy and already strained state budgets, a House panel on Tuesday considered extending emergency federal assistance to state Medicaid programs. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8396&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8396&fromRSS=true Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Officials at Philips Electronics North America, a unit of Royal Philips Electronics, have announced that the company will be moving its headquarters to Andover, Mass., where it expects to boost the state's economy. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8395&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8395&fromRSS=true Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Healthcare staffing services provider Cross Country Health has acquired privately-held Medical Doctors Associates, Inc., and its subsidiaries for $112.3 million in cash, in a bid to expand the company's locum tenens staffing. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8394&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8394&fromRSS=true Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Microsoft executive Bill Crounse, MD urged an audience of healthcare executives here Tuesday at the Third Annual World Congress Leadership Summit on The Road to Interoperability to develop a new business model for healthcare. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8377&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8377&fromRSS=true Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Adequate financing, improving the quality of care services and developing an adequate, skilled workforce are some of the urgent challenges facing long-term care in the future, said respondents to the latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8376&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8376&fromRSS=true Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT To assist small to medium-sized practices and community health centers in Georgia and South Carolina, electronic health record provider Sevocity will offer up to $100,000 in grants to spur clinics in these states to adopt EHRs. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8375&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8375&fromRSS=true Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt has awarded more than $49 million in grants to 30 states to provide health insurance to residents who can't get conventional coverage because of their health status. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8374&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8374&fromRSS=true Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT New research reveals that healthcare executives place a higher priority on energy efficiency than other industry executives and are more likely to expect to make improvements over the next year. http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8372&fromRSS=true http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/story.cms?id=8372&fromRSS=true Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT