APMA News Brief

Now that the dust has settled and the House and Senate are back to work again, physicians are calling on policymakers to listen to the American public’s call to end the Washington game of brinksmanship, and one way to do that is to finally pass Medicare reform that moves the system into the 21st century. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: Visit our Medicare Payment Reform resource page for more information on APMA’s advocacy efforts.

Physicians know the change to ICD-10 coding on Oct. 1 is going to radically change how they input diagnostic and billing codes. That's mostly due to the number of codes swelling by thousands compared to the previous coding vocabulary, ICD-9.

Visit http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/cms-animates-icd-10-videos-explore-coding-changes to view the full article online.

CMS issued a 476-page final rule to promote improving the overall Health Insurance Marketplace consumer experience by ensuring affordable and accessible coverage options. On Feb. 20, the federal agency released the final rule, Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2016.

Visit http://revcycleintelligence.com/2015/02/23/summary-of-health-insurance-marketplace-final-rule-for-2016/ to view the full article online.

Increased EHR data exchange is beginning to play an important role in reforming the healthcare industry and enhancing the quality of care. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: Review APMA’s EHR resources for more information on purchasing an EHR system.

Will Glaros has been helping Northwest Indiana businesses manage their employee benefits for more than three decades. But he has perhaps never had a greater challenge – or opportunity – than he has right now, assisting companies navigating the immense changes to health insurance brought on by the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 law often known as Obamacare.

Visit http://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/2015/02/22/how-has-the-aca-impacted-small-businesses-entrepreneurs-a-597954.html#.VO3ndS5fCYw to view the full article online.

A two-year research study into pain in the big toe joint is being carried out by a team from the University of Northampton and Northampton General Hospital.

Visit http://www.northampton-news-hp.co.uk/University-Northampton-Northampton-General/story-26068868-detail/story.html to view the full article online.

The Obama Administration, finally acknowledging the seasonal mismatch between the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment season and the ACA’s tax-based penalties for failing to have insurance, decided to create a new special enrollment season for this year only.

Visit http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2015/02/23/better-ways-to-link-the-affordable-care-act-with-tax-filing-season/ to view the full article online.

Tax season is turning into a painful time to pay back some subsidy money received to offset health care insurance under the Affordable Care Act, as many tax filers are discovering.

Visit http://www.freep.com/story/money/personal-finance/susan-tompor/2015/02/24/aca-subsidies-payback-tax-refunds-susan-tompor/23929651/ to view the full article online.

In today’s interconnected world it seems intuitively true that instant access to comprehensive medical patient histories will help physicians to provide better care at a lower cost.

Visit http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/techtank/posts/2015/02/24-ehr-records-hostage-yaraghi to view the full article online.

Older adults typically have a greater need for health-related information but their health literacy – their capacity to obtain, process and understand health information to make appropriate health decisions – is the lowest among all age groups.

Visit http://theconversation.com/dr-google-can-improve-older-peoples-health-if-we-bridge-the-technology-gap-37580 to view the full article online.

The percentage of uninsured Americans dropped by 3.5 percent nationwide in 2014, according to a new poll that shows a historic expansion of coverage nationwide.

Visit http://time.com/3720659/health-insurance-rate-obamacare/ to view the full article online.

Some meanings elude you until you are actually dealing with them. One of these is the difference between occupational therapy (referred to commonly as OT), physical therapy (known as PT) and home health care.

Visit http://www.dailylocal.com/business/20150223/colliton-here-is-whats-covered-under-medicare-when-youre-hurt to view the full article online.

Gout, the most common inflammatory arthritis worldwide, is treatable but vastly undertreated, according to epidemiologic studies that now encompass three continents.

Visit http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/840172 to view the full article online.

The Industrial Commission approved significant changes to how health-care providers are reimbursed for treating patients involved in workers’ compensation cases.

Visit http://www.journalnow.com/business/business_beat/industrial-commission-sets-fees-for-workers-compensation-cases/article_699b6690-bb94-11e4-ac6b-bb77523db3f0.html to view the full article online.

Most physician practices are now convinced that the ICD-10 transition will finally happen on Oct. 1, 2015. But just 21 percent say they're on track with their preparations for the switchover. 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.

The fees associated with sharing patient data threaten to thwart the $30 billion federal push to move the healthcare industry to electronic records — and it could require Congress to step in to change things, Politico reports.

Visit http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/data-sharing-fees-healthcare-reform-killer/2015-02-24 to view the full article online.

New York’s Medicaid program — which overpaid nearly $9 million for durable medical equipment over a two-year period — is one of seven states that has missed significant savings on medical equipment by not requiring competitive bidding by suppliers, according to multiple reports by federal watchdogs. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: Don’t miss APMA’s DME resources on APMA.org.

Earlier this year, we surveyed 150 healthcare lit decision makers familiar with their organization's cloud implementations and gained a deeper understanding of key cloud trends in the healthcare marketplace.

Visit http://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/2015/02/23/our-expert-trio-takes-on-the-cloud-a-598086.html#.VO3nmi5fCYw to view the full article online.

The bill, called the Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility, and Empowerment (CARE) Act, was announced in a press release on Feb. 5. Click here to continue reading.

Editor's note: Visit APMA's healthcare reform page for more resources and information on how the ACA affects the profession.

Templates can either enhance documentation necessary for coding and data quality, or they can hinder things by restricting options and failing to prompt physicians to document specific information. However, templates cannot be overlooked when it comes to ICD-10.

Visit http://icd10monitor.com/enews/item/1370-ensure-icd-10-updates-for-important-ehr-templates to view the full article online.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced a one-year delay in finalizing the long-awaited and closely watched rule addressing the 60-day deadline to return Medicare and Medicaid overpayments (the "60-day rule").

Visit http://www.natlawreview.com/article/cms-delays-60-day-rule-overpayment-case-law-emerging-centers-medicare-and-medicaid-s to view the full article online.

People who have low levels of vitamin D are more likely to have diabetes, regardless of how much they weigh, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Visit http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-02-vitamin-d-deficiency-linked-diabetes.html to view the full article online.

Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, the US Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights is now required to perform periodic HIPAA compliance audits. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: APMA provides compliance materials for members at APMA.org.