Reimbursement

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced that the five-year Physician Group Practice Demonstration project has resulted in quality improvements and Medicare savings and resulted in $110 million in incentive payments.

Medicare exchange operator Extend Health and global benefits consulting firm Mercer have announced a referral agreement aimed at helping employers design and manage the costs for benefits provided to Medicare-eligible retirees.

SCI Solutions, a provider of enterprise access management, physician connectivity and front-end revenue management software, is flush with two new investments and a new CEO, and it is on a path to growth, executives announced Tuesday.

The Physician Group Practice (PGP) demonstration project championed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has resulted in quality improvements and Medicare savings and resulted in $110 million in incentive payments CMS announced Monday.

Medicare payments to hospices will see a 2.5 percent increase in FY 2012 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in a final rule at the end of July. The final rule also implements Affordable Care Act requirements.

Results of a new survey of employers by benefits consulting firm Mercer show that most employers plan to continue offering health insurance coverage to their employees after all the provisions of the Affordable Care Act become effective in 2014.

While many of the causes for readmission are out of a hospital's control, the message is clear, hospitals will be obligated to get involved in the whole spectrum of care for a patient and will be held accountable if patients are readmitted to a hospital within a certain time period, according to a proposed rule expected from CMS.

Many self-help gurus will say it's not helpful to compare yourself to others but a new study released Thursday comparing the administrative costs of physicians' offices in the United States and Canada brings home the point that standardizing administrative operations reduces costs and lessens hassles.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has fully certified the Massachusetts' Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS), according to an announcement issued Aug. 3 by HP Enterprise Services.