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There is another patch for the ill fated Obamacare. There have been multiple complaints about the high cost of the insurance so the White House has unilaterally decided to next year to look at the restrictive networks and prescription benefits when they make their choice as to the insurers to be allowed to insure the population.
The Feds released a 148 page document listing the proposed rules and rates for next year's Medicare Advantage plans. The insurers would need to notify 30 days in advance any network changes and would have to notify providers at least 60 days in advance of any terminations.
The White House has also stayed the course for the end of March as the cut off date for Obamacare but anyone who has started the process in the federal system can have an additional two weeks to finish the application. States doing their own may or may not follow.
Japan, a socialized nation, is going to stop payments for feeding tube insertions in bedridden patients that could go to home health agencies. They will increase payments for swallowing tests and to help the bedridden eat by mouth. The culture there is one of prolongation of life even if demented.
Congress has done it again. For the 15th time it will do a band aid for the SGR. The idiots in the House passed the SGR fix but put it with an Obamacare individual mandate repeal that was DOA in the Senate. Now they redid the thing they should have done originally. They passed it as a standalone except for adding the delay of the ICD 10 by one year. It also delayed the 2 midnight rule and RAC until March 31, 2015.
The Preventative Task Force who has never met a test they like continues to confound physicians and the public. This time by not recommending routine screening on older adults for cognitive impairment.
For the first time the OCR has fined a county for HIPAA violations. Skagit County in Washington was fined $215,000 for exposing the PHI of 1581 individuals.
DISCLAIMER: Although this
article is updated periodically, it reflects the author's point of view at the
time of publication. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Readers
should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the
information presented.