APMA News Brief

The Helping Ensure Life- and Limb-Saving Access to Podiatric Physicians (HELLPP) Act, S 1533, was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Tom Udall (D-NM), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) yesterday. A companion bill, HR 1542, was introduced in the House earlier this session by Reps. Bill Johnson (R-OH) and Diane DeGette (D-CO) on behalf of themselves and 16 other members of the House of Representatives.

Visit http://www.apma.org/WorkingForYou/NewsDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=25387 to view the full article online.

The rates physicians are reimbursed under traditional Medicare "act as a strong anchor" for reimbursement in the Medicare Advantage market, according to a recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Visit http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/traditional-medicare-rates-anchor-physician-reimbursement-in-medicare-advantage-market-study-finds.html to view the full article online.

An advisory committee says the government should redesign the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) if it wants the new payment method for doctors to improve outcomes and reduce costs.

Visit http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/practices/medpac-recommends-redesign-mips to view the full article online.

A new study has found that state reforms to control the costs of prescription drugs by targeting reimbursements for physicians dispensing them are having some effect but that physician-dispensing still accounts for a large share of prescription drug costs in a number of states.

Visit http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2017/07/12/457386.htm to view the full article online.

The last few months have been an anxious time in health-care policy with calls to repeal, replace, repair, and delay repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Visit http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2017/07/12/beyond-repeal-and-replace-physicians-renew-the-call-for-delivery-system-improvement/ to view the full article online.

Despite the focus on value-based care, nearly half of physicians have no part of their income tied to quality or outcomes, according to a survey conducted by The Medicus Firm, a physician recruitment company. 

Visit http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-physician-relationships/survey-income-not-tied-to-quality-for-half-of-physicians.html to view the full article online.

In the era of health-care reform, an increasing number of U.S. hospitals and physician practices are consolidating. 

Visit https://www.dotmed.com/news/story/38114 to view the full article online.

Providers that want to launch telehealth programs must tackle several challenges to ensure a program is effective. 

Visit http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/it/liability-licensing-pose-challenge-to-launching-telehealth-programs to view the full article online.

Trees unfolding their blossoms, daffodils shouldering their way out of the ground, bare toes peeping out of sandals and flip-flops, these are sure signs of warmer weather that tempts us to show a little skin to the world. 

Visit http://www.enidnews.com/news/lifestyles/get-feet-ready-for-summer/article_f9ee2553-e8df-5fc7-9766-4c65fb21ec8f.html to view the full article online.

Running, walking, being squeezed into tight shoes... Human feet go through a lot, and sometimes they let us know about it – often in the form of bunions. 

Visit http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/wellbeing/a28434/bunions-shoes-what-you-need-to-know/ to view the full article online.

Thanks to our summertime penchant for open-backed sandals and flip-flops, cracked heels are a very common problem around this time of year, according to the NHS.

Visit http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/825224/painful-feet-cracked-heels-dry-skin-footwear-summer-symptoms-cure to view the full article online.

Like many women, I have a love/hate relationship with my shoe collection.

Visit http://www.thelcn.com/lcn05/got-a-minute-these-shoes-are-bad-for-your-feet-20170709 to view the full article online.

Gout is a form of arthritis that happens when our joints and soft tissues get inflamed due to an excess of uric acid. 

Visit http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/columns/20170712/underlying_inflammation_can_lead_to_gout to view the full article online.

What would we do without our hands and feet? 

Visit http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sponsor-story/TriHealth/2017/07/10/how-keep-your-most-important-extremities-healthy/463543001/ to view the full article online.

As value-based reimbursement leads health-care providers to dig deep for new technologies and create team structures to handle the switch, smaller providers are struggling to cover the costs.

Visit http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/smaller-practices-invest-costly-transition-value-based-care to view the full article online.

The most common health-care restrictive covenant is a non-competition covenant. 

Visit http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/medical-economics/news/protect-your-practice-restrictive-covenant to view the full article online.

Whether through a portal or some other type of health information technology (HIT), patient engagement efforts are on the rise. 

Visit http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/medical-economics/news/how-improve-patient-engagement-through-technology to view the full article online.

Fewer health insurers plan to participate in Obamacare exchanges next year, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 

Visit http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/10/fewer-insurers-are-applying-to-participate-in-obamacare-exchanges.html to view the full article online.