Monthly Archives: February 2017

Today's Top Story President to offer details of healthcare reform proposal this week; ACA replacement proposal leaked. Reuters reports that President Trump will offer details on his plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in a nationally televised speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Read more...      In related news, Politico has obtained a draft copy of an ACA replacement bill. According to an analysis by STAT, the proposal includes: [...]

Today's Top Story Prior authorization issues continue to burden many providers. An article in MedPage Today looks at the issue of prior authorization as discussed at the annual meeting of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. A survey recently conducted by the American Medical Association found that responding medical practices submitted an average of 37 prior authorization requests each week, with an average of 16 hours of physician and staff time required to complete the requests. Overall, [...]

Today's Top Story CMS reps clarify some facets of MIPS. An article in Healthcare IT News reports on comments made by representatives of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). A spokesperson for the CMS Quality Measurement & Value-Based Incentive Group says that the agency will allow clinicians to pick the pace of their participation in the program. Medicare clinicians who participate in MIPS will be reimbursed based on [...]

Today's Top Story Study: Patients with children may need to be educated regarding safe storage of opioids. A study published online in the journal Pediatrics finds that opioid pain relievers are often stored unsafely in households with children. The research team surveyed a nationally representative sample of 681 adults who reported prescription opioid use and children at home. They found that safe storage was reported by 32.6 percent of those with only young children (age <7 years), 11.7 [...]

Today's Top Story Study: Patients with children may need to be educated regarding safe storage of opioids. A study published online in the journal Pediatrics finds that opioid pain relievers are often stored unsafely in households with children. The research team surveyed a nationally representative sample of 681 adults who reported prescription opioid use and children at home. They found that safe storage was reported by 32.6 percent of those with only young children (age <7 years), 11.7 [...]

Today's Top Story FDA announces Class I recall of Zimmer Biomet Comprehensive Reverse Shoulder. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a Class I recall of the Zimmer Biomet Comprehensive Reverse Shoulder device. The Comprehensive Reverse Shoulder is a shoulder replacement device designed for patients with rotator cuff tears who have previously failed shoulder joint arthroplasty and have developed arthropathy. The manufacturer has received reports that the devices are fracturing at a higher rate than is [...]

Today's Top Story CMS issues rule to reform ACA insurance markets in 2018. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a proposed rule for 2018, designed to stabilize the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance markets. Among other things, the rule would shorten the open enrollment period, and put in place stricter verification processes during special enrollment periods. According to Modern Healthcare, insurers have advocated for such changes to reduce the likelihood of consumers purchasing [...]