N.Y.U. and Other Medical Schools Offer Shorter Course in Training, for Less Tuition, 12-23-12, New York Times
Amemona Hartocollis reports New York University, one of the nation’s premier medical schools, and a few others around the United States are offering a small percentage of students the chance to finish early, in three years instead of the traditional four.
ICD-10 Will Hit Home in 2013, 12-28-12, PhysBizTech
Ryan McDermitt reports that even though the deadline is moved to October 2014, health care providers still have some of the same questions and see some of the same challenges with ICD-10 implementation. But overall, more healthcare organizations are actively working on ICD-10.
Cliff Deal Irks Hospitals, 1-2-13, Washington Wire
Louise Radnofsky reports that hospitals are the most upset with the fiscal cliff deal now that health-care providers have had time to sift through the package.
Fiscal Deal Kills New Funding for Health Law’s Co-Ops, 1-2-13, Kaiser Health News
Phil Galewitz reports the fiscal cliff deal, approved by Congress on New Year’s Day, eliminates most of the more than $1.4 billion in remaining funding from the federal health law for new nonprofit, customer-owned health plans designed to compete against the major for-profit insurers. That means the Obama administration won’t be able to approve loans to any additional co-ops.
Link between Health Care Spending, Quality Unclear, 1-2-13, Reuters
Genevra Pittman reports that it’s still an open question whether states, hospitals and smaller practices that spend more money on health care provide better treatment.
HIPAA Settlement Brings Small Covered Entities into Play, 1-3-13, PhysBizTech
Erin McCann reports that HIPAA enforcements don’t only happen to the “big guys” among healthcare providers. The Department of Health & Human Services announced on Jan. 2 a financial settlement for a HIPAA breach involving fewer than 500 patients.
Health Insurers Raise Some Rates by Double Digits, 1-5-13, New York Times
Reed Abelson reports that health insurance companies across the country are seeking and winning double-digit increases in premiums for some customers, even though one of the biggest objectives of the Obama administration’s health care law was to stem the rapid rise in insurance costs for consumers.
Wos Facing ‘Enormous Challenges’, 1-7-13, News & Record
Travis Fain reports the ‘enormous challenges’ that are in store for Aldona Wos to take the reins at the state Department of Health and Human Services.
But Wos is on the job and said she has found “exceptionally wonderful, brilliant people” in the roughly 18,000 who work for DHHS, which manages Medicaid.
Flu Activity Is High in Most of the Country, 1-7-13, Journal Watch
Cara Adler reports on how the country is seeing high levels of influenza-like illness.
