Reimbursement

As employers and individuals seek ways to squeeze more value out of their healthcare dollars, their demand for solid pricing and quality data is growing. Bob Kocher, a partner at venture capital firm Venrock and a former special assistant to the president for healthcare and economic policy in the Obama administration, will detail the path toward better pricing and quality data on Wednesday, June 19, at the Healthcare Financial Management Association's ANI 2013 in Orlando, Fla.

Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access (SNHPA), the group that represents hospitals in the federal 340B discount drug program, recently asked pharmaceutical manufacturer Amgen to withdraw its new policy that all 340B purchases of the company's drug Neulasta be made exclusively through specialty distribution channels.

As the healthcare industry transforms from a volume-based to a value-based payment system, it helps to learn from other organizations' experiences. Attendees of the June 19 education session, Operationalizing Value-Based Purchasing, at the Healthcare Financial Management Association's ANI 2013 next week in Orlando, Fla., will get the inside scoop from Barnabas Health's experience.

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield reported last week that the second year (2012) of its patient-centered medical home (PCMH) program yielded cost savings of $98 million for 1 million members covered by the effort.

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield reported on June 6 that the second year (2012) of its patient-centered medical home (PCMH) program yielded cost savings of $98 million for 1 million members covered by the effort.

Starting next year, the Affordable Care Act sets maximum limits on how much consumers can be required to pay out-of-pocket annually for their medical care. But some people with high drug costs may find the limits don't protect them yet.

While more and more physician practices are focusing on patient-centered care, more support efforts are needed, according to recent report by MGMA-ACMPE.

A TransUnion report released today finds that average patient out-of-pocket costs for healthcare have grown almost by 22 percent in a year.

The Washington D.C. Council has temporarily approved a plan by the D.C. Health Benefits Exchange Authority requiring that all small group health plans be sold exclusively in the exchange starting in 2015.

The Center for Connected Health and the Center for Technology and Aging have launched a new tool to gauge the return on investment for remote patient monitoring technologies for patients with heart disease.