ASC Coding, Billing & Collections

If the merger between Advocate Health Care in Chicago and NorthShore University HealthSystem in Chicago goes through, both systems plan to create a low-cost health plan that would be offered to Chicago-area employers, according to the Chicago Tribune.

A recent study found Medicare Advantage patients are 10 percent less likely to have avoidable hospitalizations than traditional fee-for-service Medicare patients, according to Medscape Multispecialty.

On March 22, both of California's health insurance regulators signed off on Centene's $6.8 billion acquisition of Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Health Net., according to California Healthline.

Congress passed legislation that would adopt site neutral payments for medical providers treating Medicare patients last fall, affecting off-campus hospital outpatient departments built or acquired after 2016, according to a report from The Hill, and savings to Medicare are at…

Of the 1.4 million to 4.4 million small businesses the Government Accountability Office estimated to be eligible for the tax credit, merely 181,000 small businesses claimed the Small Employer Health Insurance Tax Credit in 2014, according to The Business Journals.

More consumers are opting out of buying prescription drugs costing more than $50, according to a Truveris report.

Health insurer Anthem is suing Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit manager, to receive a larger share of savings on prescription medicines, according to npr.

Patients are becoming aware of health systems' facility fees as they scrutinize their medical bills, according to The Daily Item.

The Department of Health and Human Services created the Medicare Shared Savings Program and accountable care organizations to minimize healthcare spending, yet the programs have cost substantially more than the government anticipated, according to RevCycle Intelligence.

Cosmetic surgeon David M. Morrow, MD, pled guilty to charges of defrauding health insurance companies, according to Palm Desert Patch.