Reimbursement

U.S. healthcare prices increased ever so slightly in August 2011, rising 0.1 percent, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

During the health care debate, the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger Health System and Intermountain Healthcare were repeatedly touted as models for a new health care delivery system.

A recent study in Health Affairs examines for the first time the effects that differences in healthcare service volume and price, rather than simply spending and use, have on state and regional Medicaid spending.

Two-thirds of low income individuals who receive Medicaid are enrolled in comprehensive managed care programs, including risk-based managed care organizations (MCO) and primary care case management programs.

Kaiser Health News has an interesting piece in which it quotes the answers of six health care system "experts" to what happens if the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate is found unconstitutional. (The GAO posed a similar question to a wider group earlier this year, and published its much more extensive findings in a February 25 letter to a Senate Appropriations subcommittee.)

To aid health entities in managing the HIPAA 5010 and ICD-10 mandates, CMS has made available what it's calling "timeline widgets."

Independence Blue Cross and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan announced a partnership intended to expand Medicaid insurance and services nationally through a combined acquisition of AmeriHealth Mercy, which serves nearly 800,000 Medicaid members in three states.

IBM is teaming with WellPoint to develop the first commercial applications of its Watson technology, with an eye toward bringing evidence-based information to care providers.