Laura Joszt, MA

Hospital consolidation for the purpose of improving patient care coordination and reducing cost of care is backfiring, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Effective immediately, Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, will be stepping down as national coordinator for health information technology to assist HHS in the fight against Ebola.

Patient-centered care has been getting a lot of attention as the healthcare industry focuses on the Triple Aim of delivering better health outcomes, improving patient experience, and reducing the cost of care. In that vein, the Louis W. Sullivan Institute for Healthcare Innovation recently released 6 guiding principles of patient-centered care.

Converting to for-profit status has a positive influence on a hospital's finances, but no effect on quality or mortality rates, found researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Ending the subsidies offered under the Affordable Care Act would sharply increase costs for consumers, according to a study from the RAND Corporation. Furthermore, without the subsidies, more than 11 million Americans will lose their health insurance.

Congressional candidates may be still be talking about the Affordable Care Act, but a majority of the uninsured are still unaware of main components of the law, according to a poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Industry experts discussed the big issues facing accountable care organizations (ACO) at the Brookings Institute's event, The State of Accountable Care: Evidence to Date and Next Steps, held Monday in Washington, DC.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology unveiled a draft for its 10-year plan for healthcare interoperability at a joint meeting on October 15.

A new initiative from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will explore how health information and data can be used to improve health in the community.

Despite continued Republican opposition to the Affordable Care Act, sentiment is shifting from repeal to replace. Still, the fact that open enrollment on HealthCare.gov begins after the midterm elections does not seem like a coincidence to the GOP.

A majority of Americans covered by the Affordable Care Act are expecting to change plans for 2015, which may be a smart move, according to industry experts. People who simply re-enroll may not realize they are no longer among the lowest costing plans, which will affect how much their subsidies pay for.

Legal reforms that enact stronger protections against malpractice claims do not necessarily reduce defensive care, according to a new study by the RAND Corporation published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The strict rules of the Meaningful Use (MU) program are preventing physicians from participating, according to the American Medical Association, which is calling for more flexibility and some relief from penalties.

Accountable Care Organizations participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program will have access to a new initiative that will support care coordination across the country, according to CMS. Up to $114 million in upfront investments will be made available.

Quality in Medicare Advantage plans is increasing, and CMS credits the improvement to its star rating system. A growing number of Medicare enrollees are in plans receiving at least 4 out of 5 stars, according to a new fact sheet.

The quality bonus payments tied to CMS' star ratings makes it critical that health plans receive a 4 or better, Jonathan Harding, MD, chief medical officer of the Senior Products Division at Tufts Health Plan, said at the America's Health Insurance Plan's National Conferences on Medicare and Medicaid, and Dual Eligibles Summit in Washington, DC, from September 28 to October 2.

In states that chose not to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act, residents with a median income of less than $800 a month are now ineligible for coverage assistance while those with more than $2000 a month are eligible for subsidies, according to a report from the Urban Institute.

Although many providers are looking to implement cloud, big data, social, and mobile technologies within the next 2 years, if they haven't done so already, few healthcare organizations feel their infrastructures are prepared for this evolution of electronic medical records, according to a new study.

Gilead Sciences' Harvoni represents the first once-a-day, complete treatment pill approved by the FDA to treat the hepatitis C virus (HCV). And for some patients, the drug will be less expensive than Gilead's other HCV treatment, Sovaldi.

Reference pricing programs can steer patients to lower-price, adequate quality providers, but potential savings to health plans and purchasers are actually modest, according to a study from the National Institute for Health Care Reform.

Despite progress being made, health information technology interoperability remains a struggle, according to a report submitted by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and HHS to Congress.

For the third year in a row, Medicare Part B monthly premiums and deductibles will remain unchanged at $104.90 and $147, respectively, according to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell.

There are 10 emerging healthcare trends that will impact managed care pharmacy organizations over the next 5 years as the United States healthcare system places more emphasis on affordability, population health, and patient satisfaction and quality of care, according to a new report from the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy.

Financial results from the first 2 years of the Pioneer ACO Model reveals the gains and losses of the 32 organizations that started the program, and illuminates why just 19 remain.

The majority of low-income adults in 3 states favored Medicaid expansion, but knowledge about their states' plans for the program under the Affordable Care Act was low, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund.

CMS released financial results from the first 2 years of the Pioneer ACO program. The program is down to 19 accountable care organizations from the original 32 that started the program, and the financial results reveal why those that dropped out did so.

Over the last decade, all 5 national coordinators for health information technology have discussed the importance of connecting healthcare data, but the timing is finally right now, according to Karen B. DeSalvo, MD.

Although people seem to assume Big Data will answer all questions and improve quality of care while increasing efficiencies, the healthcare industry needs to focus on what data is actually actionable, according to John Halamka, MD, chief information officer at Beth Israel Deaconess.

Including pharmacy benefits as part of an employer's total health insurance benefit package has clear health benefits and cost savings, according to a study from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Prime Therapeutics, LLC.

During the third year of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program, CMS will penalize more hospitals than it did during the second and third years of the program; however, the overall readmission rate for Medicare beneficiaries is down.