Policy and Legislation

ICD-10 testing will be a valuable step in the ICD-10 transition but it will be more complicated than sending medical claims to healthcare payers and asking, "How's that?"

As 2014 winds down, we've taken a look back at some of the biggest stories in healthcare finance in the past year. See what you may have missed.

The bonus boosted pay rates for primary care doctors who saw Medicaid patients to the same level as they are paid by Medicare.

Healthcare.gov enrolled 1.9 million new customers for health insurance between Nov. 15 and Dec. 18. At the same time, another 4.5 million existing policyholders either re-enrolled or were automatically renewed.

The number of accountable care organizations in Medicare's Shared Savings Program will grow by 89 in January 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid said this week, boosting the total participants to 405. Medicare ACOs will now serve more than 7.2 million patients.

Medicare is penalizing 721 hospitals with high rates of potentially avoidable mistakes that can harm patients, known as "hospital-acquired conditions." Penalized hospitals will have their Medicare payments reduced by 1 percent over the fiscal year that runs from October 2014 through September 2015.

The state that was supposed to pioneer single payer healthcare for the nation is dropping the idea. Gov. Peter Shumlin said the comprehensive tax scheme needed to raise more than $2 billion annually would be too disruptive.

In its toughest crackdown yet on medical errors, the federal government is cutting payments to 721 hospitals for having high rates of infections and other patient injuries.

Researchers and advocates worry the NIH may use that money for research not related to children's health.

More than 1 million people selected a health plan during the fourth week of the health law's open enrollment and nearly 2.5 million have done so since it began Nov. 15, federal officials said Tuesday.