// archives

Archive for February, 2012

An Opinion – Advocate for Universal Health Care

By ⋅ February 23, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

Surely if we can find money to pay for wars we should be able to find funds to pay for universal health care. Just as President Johnson declared a war on poverty, we need to declare a war on the lack of health coverage for all.  We are almost there; Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP are [...]

NEW – So what the Heck is an ACO?

By ⋅ February 17, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

An Animated Conversation About ACOs.   Accountable Care Organizations are a continuing source of interest to both health care providers and consumers. Kaiser Health News calls them “the hottest three-letter word in health care.”  Now WBUR’s CommonHealth blog has put together a video animation that walks viewers through how ACOs work and what that means for consumers. [...]

What’s New – New Analysis and Interactive Tool from the Kaiser Family Foundation Illustrate Variations in How Coverage Expansions Will Affect Local Communities

By ⋅ February 15, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

The interactive tools includes a calculator that allows individuals and families to estimate how much they could receive in tax credits under the ACA to help pay for their insurance in the health insurance exchanges in 2014. The zip code interactive tool allows users to enter in their zip codes and see the percentage of people in [...]

Breaking News CMS will re-examine ICD-10 timeline

By ⋅ February 14, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

Modern Healthcare.com reports the acting head of the CMS on Tuesday signaled that the agency will extend the timeline on ICD-10 implementation. After speaking to attendees at the American Medical Association Advocacy Conference in Washington, acting CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner told reporters that the CMS will “re-examine the timeframe” through a rulemaking process. She did [...]

NEW must read !!– HRSA announces new caps for salary amounts charged to HRSA funds for HRSA funded projects. NEW Feb 11 – Contains language and examples from the most recent FY 2012 SAC for AA.

By ⋅ February 10, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

The amount of an individual’s salary charged to a HRSA funded project is capped at $179,700 per year. While the announcement does not limit the salary amount paid by an organization from other funding sources, it does have implications for financial budgeting and reporting.  The announcement, implications, and recommendations follow. As posted on the HRSA EHB: Per the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 [...]

—