Health care providers aim to improve care, lower costs, 4-11-12, The New Bern Sun Journal
Reporter Eddie Fitzgerald reports that two New Bern health organizations, Coastal Carolina Quality Care and Accountable Care Coalition of Eastern North Carolina, LLC, have been selected to be part of 27 accountable care organizations chosen to participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. NCMS member and CCQC chairman and president, Kenneth W. Wilkins, Jr., MD, was quoted in the article.
Rates cut; state tort laws cited, 4-6-12, The News and Observer
Writer Chris Bagley reports that the state’s second largest medical malpractice insurer has cut its premiums in response to the efforts of tort reform laws in North Carolina as well as other states.
Health care law will add $340 billion to deficit, new study finds, 4-9-12, The Washington Post
Reporter Lori Montgomery reports on differing opinions of the effect of President Obama’s health care initiative on the nation’s budget woes over the next decade.
Has The Saturation Point For Under 26 Coverage Been Reached?, 4-10-12, Kaiser Health News
Writer Christian Torres reports on the current status of the health law’s most popular benefit, which allows children to stay on their parent’s insurance up to age 26.
Q&A: ICD-10 delay a ‘pragmatic compromise without changing principles’, 4-10-12, Government Health IT
Editor Tom Sullivan interviews Kaveh Safavi, managing director of Accenture’s North America health industry unit, about his thoughts on the newly-proposed ICD-10 compliance deadline of October 1, 2014.
UNC health changes narrowly OK’d by House panel, 4-10-12, WRAL/ Associated Press
Reporter Gary Robertson writes that a divided legislative committee recommended placing more oversight and restrictions on the University of North Carolina Health Care System after a series of expansions by the state-owned hospital chain were questioned.
Doctors in Texas React As Aetna Drops 130 Lone-Star Physicians,4-3-12, The Courant
Blogger Matthew Sturdevant writes about Texas doctors’ reaction to Aetna dropping 130 physicians from their network as a result of standard business practice to preview local market provider networks. The NCMS would like to know if any members are also experiencing this.
Community Care Network Pilots Telepsychiatry Program, 4-6-12, The Pilot
The Pilot reports that Community Care of Sandhills (CCS) will use telemedicine to integrate psychiatry into primary care locations.
FDA in Hot Seat on Safety, 4-9-12, The Wall Street Journal
Reporter Thomas M. Burton writes that doctors are pushing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to strengthen reporting requirements for medical devices.
For the Elderly, Emergency Rooms of Their Own, 4-9-12, The New York Times
Reporter Anemona Hartocollis writes about how some hospitals are creating emergency rooms with an atmosphere more suited for elderly patients.
