The North Carolina Telehealth Network (NCTN) has connected its first non-profit hospital. The Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, NC will be connected to the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN) thanks to completion of the first phase of the state’s Golden Golden LEAF Rural Broadband Initiative.
Federal authorities are investigating how the rates are set for the matching Medicaid dollars from the federal government, which are used to help the state pay for health care coverage for the poorest of its citizens. The investigation follows allegations from David Feinwachs, a former lawyer for the Minnesota Hospital Association that a lack of [...]
The South Dakota legislature is looking at health care but not to make changes to Medicare, Medicaid or other health services but instead to plan for what might happen if federal health care reform is ruled unconstitutional later this year. A House committee is calling for a fundamental restructuring of state insurance regulations should the [...]
Federal health care reform is facing more hurdles, this time with states that agreed to move forward implementing requirements before a Supreme Court ruling on the law. Some lawmakers and health insurance advocates in Pennslyvania are pushing back on the state’s plan for its health insurance exchange saying that as currently written the plan skews [...]
Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin is sending $37 million back to the federal government. The money was an award for the state’s health care exchange under the early innovator program. The move follows an earlier announcement from the Governor that Wisconsin will not move forward on health care reform requirements until the Supreme Court rules [...]
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will expand health coverage in the United States by more than 35 million people. This expansion requires states to take a fresh look at eligibility and customer service operations, and develop new business processes for interacting with stakeholders. Existing IT systems are outdated, and under-resourced state agencies are challenged by [...]
ManTech International Corporation has acquired health systems integrator Evolvent Technologies. The move signals a push by ManTech to get into health IT as part of it’s contracting offering. Evolvent has experience working with federal health systems.
Nebraska and Ohio are both considering measures that would set up health insurance exchanges in their states. Both measures are expected to face stiff opposition from Republican lawmakers that oppose federal health care reform. However, both Governor Heineman and Governor Kasich are expected to at least consider the measures to avoid, ‘federal takeover’ as implementation [...]
Continuing resolutions are a key part of the federal budget process. They allow for the government to continue to meet its obligations on a temporary basis when congress fails to pass a full budget measure. However, when the federal government relies solely on temporary budget measures as it has for quite awhile, programs without automatic [...]
An announcement earlier this month that the federal government will not establish a national health benefits standard to go along with requirements in the new health care reform law is already impacting some state insurance exchanges. Oregon exchange director Howard “Rocky” King, called the decision “a grenade.” The Obama administration is giving states broad latitude [...]
