ASC Coding, Billing & Collections

Health insurance company Aetna recently reported fourth quarter net income that jumped 73 percent over the same quarter in 2010, an increase driven by low use of healthcare and reduction in key expenses, according to a Washington Post report.

Competing Minnesota legislators plan to offer opposing suggestions for how health insurance should be sold in the state, according to a Star Tribune report.

New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Thomas Considine will step down to take a job as COO of MagnaCare, according to an Insurance News Net report.

About one in five Massachusetts residents are being treated by physicians working on a budget created by insurance plans to restrain health spending, according to a Boston Globe report.

The American Medical Association has sent a letter (pdf) to Speaker John Boehner asking that Congress put a halt to the ICD-10 requirement that goes into effect Oct. 1, 2013.

Iowa advocates are pushing for a state-run health insurance exchange, after legislators failed last year to reach an agreement on the healthcare reform provision, according to a Des Moines Register report.

Relying on out-of-network cases is seen as a risky move in the surgery center industry, but many centers still manage to garner a profit. However, getting out-of-network reimbursement from payors is becoming increasingly difficult, says David Lau, managing partner, Medical…

The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) has submitted proposed changes to the state's personal injury protection regulations, and the New Jersey Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers has expressed its disappointment with the extent of the revisions.

In a blog post for Hospitals & Health Networks, Henry County Health Center CIO Stephen M. Stewart warned facilities not to implement ICD-10 without warning "front line" staff about the transition.

The Congressional Budget Office has released a report critical of the Medicare fee-for-service demonstration projects in disease management, care coordination and value-based payments, according to a Health Leaders Media report.