APMA News Brief

Medicare Advantage health plans are slated for a modest premium hike next year, but uncertainty remains over the long-term prospects of the value-based insurance program. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: Members can read more about Medicare Advantage in the APMA Private Insurance Resource Guide.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is seeking volunteer organizations for limited end-to-end testing for ICD-10 claims slated to begin in January 2015. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: Earlier this week, the APMA Weekly Focus reported on this opportunity for ICD-10 End-to-End testing.

Iowa and South Dakota are the two states where the ACA insurance marketplaces struggled the most. In both, just 11.1 percent of residents eligible for subsidized insurance signed up for it – the lowest rates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: Learn more about health insurance exchanges and read APMA’s policy briefs at APMA's healthcare reform page.

The U.S. government is about to embark on a major information technology program dealing with personal health records. The program is being launched by the U.S. Department of Defense, which issued a request for proposals to health IT providers late last month.

Visit http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/81075.html to view the full article online.

CMS is also seeking information regarding how certain Medicare plans that serve dual eligibles achieve high performance levels. In order to be considered, comments must be received by Nov. 3, 2014.

Visit http://www.natlawreview.com/article/centers-medicare-medicaid-services-cms-continues-to-struggle-how-to-provide-high-qua to view the full article online.

Though U.S. physicians continue to have issues with the Affordable Care Act, it appears to be a generational taste developing of the law making sweeping changes to their profession.

Visit http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2014/09/21/young-doctors-ok-with-obamacare-while-older-docs-bristle/ to view the full article online.

Call it health care law numerology. The Obama administration has had to revise and refine some initial enrollment numbers for health insurance sign-ups after they turned out to be too optimistic.

Visit http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/features/health/changing-stats-muddle-health-care-reform-2659541 to view the full article online.

A new device has just been unveiled that will spell the end of cold feet. The Digisole squeezes inside your shoes and heats your feet when it starts to get cold.

Visit http://www.dailystar.co.uk/tech/398363/Now-your-smartphone-can-keep-your-feet-warm-in-the-winter to view the full article online.

Using artificial sweeteners may set the stage for diabetes in some people by hampering the way their bodies handle sugar, suggests a preliminary study done mostly in mice.

Visit http://www.13abc.com/story/26584469/artificial-sweeteners-may-promote-diabetes to view the full article online.

Mile after mile they stand — or move — between us and the pavement, absorbing tremendous force and impact. Yet often it’s not until runners suffer from blisters, pain, swelling or, worse yet, stress fractures that we start paying attention to our Herculean workhorses: our feet.

Visit http://health.heraldtribune.com/2014/09/23/runners-first-step-taking-proper-care-feet/ to view the full article online.

In life even our feet can get stressed out. Because our feet hold all of our body weight, they are under endless stress every day.

Visit http://www.newssun.com/lifestyle/article_8d0c55ca-caba-52ae-9370-55a1557601b2.html to view the full article online.

While some injuries can be tended at home, there are few common running injuries for which you need to visit a foot care expert.

Visit http://patch.com/california/cupertino/basic-facts-about-five-common-running-injuries-0 to view the full article online.

Retiree health care costs are sapping more and more money each year from cities that are ill prepared to weather new fiscal burdens.

Visit http://wwlp.com/2014/09/22/retiree-health-costs-straining-budgets-in-poorer-cities/ to view the full article online.

Since nearly a year has passed since the compliance date for most provisions of the Final Rule, this article focuses on assisting lawyers and law firms looking to evaluate the sufficiency of their compliance efforts to date. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: APMA provides HIPAA Privacy and Security Manuals for members on APMA.org.

As the country ramps up for year two of Obamacare, Chicago-based Health Care Service Corp. is teaming up with State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. to sell health insurance plans through State Farm's agents.

Visit http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140923/INFO/309239943/state-farm-health-care-service-corp-team-up-to-sell-obamacare-plans to view the full article online.

You have probably read the stories and heard the jokes regarding the fact that ICD-10 has a code for everything.

Visit http://icd10monitor.com/enews/item/1273-yes-there-s-a-code-for-that to view the full article online.

As body mass index increases, so does a person's risk of gout, according to a new study.

Visit http://www.renalandurologynews.com/gout-risk-linked-to-body-mass-index/article/372785/ to view the full article online.

Trulicity is a new injectable drug to help manage blood sugar for adults with type 2 diabetes. Click here to continue reading.

Editor's note: Studies prove care by a podiatrist helps prevent diabetes complications and saves healthcare dollars.

A significant benefit of the Affordable Care Act is the opportunity to receive money-saving tax credits up front to cut the overall cost of health insurance, but now hundreds of thousands of consumers could owe back some of that money next April.

Visit http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/tompor/2014/09/21/susan-tompor-tax-refunds-will-be-cut-for-some-who-get-health-credits/15958211/ to view the full article online.

With ICD-10 less than one year away, it’s critical that professionals begin planning for the increased documentation specificity, time, and resources required and determine how best to engage and educate their medical staff to ensure that the accuracy of clinical data is not compromised as a result of this transition. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: APMA’s ICD-10 Resources will help you prepare for the transition to happen Oct. 1, 2015.

Beginning in 2015, certain employers that fail to offer affordable health insurance that provides minimum value to their full-time employees and their dependents may incur substantial Employer Shared Responsibility penalties under the Affordable Care Act ("ACA").

Visit http://www.natlawreview.com/article/employers-review-your-controlled-group-to-assure-aca-and-retirement-plan-compliance to view the full article online.

Metformin, used to treat people with type 2 diabetes, may reduce thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in people with diabetes already treated for poor thyroid function.

Visit http://www.dailyrx.com/metformin-lowered-thyroid-stimulating-hormone-levels-patients-type-2-diabetes to view the full article online.

North Kansas City health information technology company Cerner Corp. is working with Apple Inc. to help develop technologies that would allow doctors to monitor patients from home.

Visit http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2014/09/22/cerner-partnership-apple-health-services.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+industry_7+%28Industry+Technology%29 to view the full article online.

When it comes to growth of information technology at healthcare organizations, advanced governance is one of the key pieces to having a robust system.

Visit http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/governance-key-robust-health-it-system/2014-09-22 to view the full article online.