Policy & Regulations

This channel includes news coverage of healthcare policy and regulations set by Congress, the states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and medical associations and societies. 

With Senate vote approaching, health groups react to SGR bill, ICD-10 delay

An eleventh hour passage by the House of Representatives of a one-year ‘doc fix’ bill, which includes a contentious provision to delay ICD-10 for at least a year, has sparked outcry from health groups.

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Hurry up and wait--again

After Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilynn Tavenner told HIMSS14 attendees that the transition to ICD-10 this year is a done deal, get on with it, this week brought an eleventh hour attempt to delay the switch yet another year.

HIX enrollment tops 6M

With just a few days left in the enrollment period, the White House reported that more than six million individuals have signed up for private insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

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House passes ‘doc fix’ bill with one-year ICD-10 delay

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a one-year ‘doc fix’ bill, “Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014” (H.R. 4302) by voice vote. The bill would preserve physician compensation levels and avoid a steep 24 percent physician pay cut set to kick in on March 31.

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Halamka, Stack share thoughts on possible ICD-10 delay

Another one-year delay for the implementation of ICD-10 has been added into the sustainable growth rate bill going to vote later today.

Most organizations at or below their ICD-10 budget

Most healthcare organizations are at or below budget for the transition to ICD-10, according to the early results of an ICD-10 readiness survey conducted by consulting firm The Advisory Board Company.

eHealth Initiative launches 2020 Roadmap

The eHealth Initiative launched a new public-private collaboration, “2020 Roadmap,” to help guide the transformation of the U.S. healthcare system by 2020.

CMS Reminder: March 31 EP attestation deadline approaching

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is reminding eligible professionals that the deadline to register and attest to Meaningful Use for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program is Monday, March 31 by 11:59pm, EST.

Around the web

U.S. health systems are increasingly leveraging digital health to conduct their operations, but how health systems are using digital health in their strategies can vary widely.

When human counselors are unavailable to provide work-based wellness coaching, robots can substitute—as long as the workers are comfortable with emerging technologies and the machines aren’t overly humanlike.

A vendor that supplies EHR software to public health agencies is partnering with a health-tech startup in the cloud-communications space to equip state and local governments for managing their response to the COVID-19 crisis.