Payment Rankings for Insurance Companies Released

athenahealth, Inc., a provider of internet-based business services to physician practices, and Physicians Practice, a leading practice management journal for physicians, today released the fourth annual PayerView Rankings that indicate national health insurers are paying physicians 5.3 percent faster and denying 9.0 percent fewer medical claims over the prior year. Humana, Inc. was the top ranked national payer.

This year's rankings represented the largest data set to date, using performance data from more than 18,000 medical providers representing over 41 million medical charge lines and $7 billion dollars in charges billed to payers in 47 states for all four quarters of 2008. The data is derived from athenahealth's national electronic health record (EHR) and practice management platform, athenaNet(R), and ranks health insurers according to specific measures of financial performance, administrative performance, and medical policy complexity.

The complete 2009 PayerView Rankings and trends, evaluating 172 national, regional, and government payers in 40 states, can be found at www.athenahealth.com/PayerView.

Finance Committee Releases Pay Options for Reform

The Senate Finance Committee recently released their third report concerning healthcare reform, this time addressing the issue of financing the reform.

To read the report, click here.

Hackett Nominated as ASAE Chairman-Elect

Karen Hackett, CAE, FACHE, CEO of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons was nominated by the Joint Leadership Committee of ASAE as the Chairman-Elect for the association's 2009-2010 Board of Directors.

To read more, click here.

Congratulations, Karen!

SFC Releases Policy Options

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D‐Mont.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R‐Iowa) today released policy options for expanding health care coverage to the 46 million Americans who are currently uninsured.

The policy options released today aim to reform the individual and small group health insurance markets to end discrimination against sicker individuals. They would instead create a competitive insurance market where health plans compete on price and quality rather than the ability to segment risk and discriminate against individuals with pre‐existing health conditions. The options also include an expansion of public health insurance programs to cover the poorest Americans and make coverage more affordable by providing tax credits to low income individuals and small businesses. The policy options make purchasing coverage easier and more understandable for all consumers.

For the complete report click here

Public Comments should be directed to: Health_Reform@finance‐dem.senate.gov

Maves and Lewin Named Top 50 Physician Executives

Modern Physician recently released their annual list of the "50 Most Powerful Physician Executives," with AAMSE members Michael Maves, MD, MBA, (AMA) and John (Jack) C. Lewin, MD, (American College of Cardiology) making the list.

Congratulations Drs. Maves and Lewin!

To read more, click here.

Stricter Privacy Laws May Inhibit EMR Adoption

A new study released by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Virginia found that states with stricter privacy laws had reduced EMR adoption rates by 20-30% as compared to states with fewer regulations.

To read more, click here.

FTC Delays Red Flags Rule Enforcement

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced yesterday that they would delay enforcement of the "Red Flags Rule," which requires creditor and financial institutions (including physician practices that bill patients) to develop and implement written standards to protect against identity theft, until August 1.

To read the requirements, click here.