This is a specific focus of a weekly MBJ edition.
Increases in regulation will cost insurance companies, businesses and health providers more
With the Health Care Reform Act and corresponding Reconciliation Bill totaling more than 2,000 pages, the only professionals who have time to read and attempt to interpret the new law are lawyers, accountants and other consultants who are paid to do just that.
Although all [...] [...]
Northern District Public Service Commissioner (PSC) Brandon Presley is advocating that Mississippi consider following in the steps of other states such as Nebraska that have taken an active role promoting telemedicine by encouraging broadband Internet services in rural areas of the Magnolia State.
“In Nebraska, they have had a successful effort to link rural health clinics [...] [...]
But health department may have the ability to make exceptions to the rule
Seven Jackson area hospitals urging the Attorney General to withdraw his opinion exempting University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMC) from state certificate of need (CON) law got what they wanted — sort of.
In a June 9 decision, Attorney General Jim Hood said that [...] [...]
McIlwain confident state is ready to move forward with its federal mandate
Electronic medical records will be required for health care providers under federal healthcare reform. Mississippi, however, has a head start because the State Health Information Exchange was established for that purpose by Gov. Haley Barbour after Hurricane Katrina. This task force established electronic healthcare [...] [...]
Consumers who like their current insurance may find that their life is going to change
From an industry perspective, some of the health insurance policy mandates in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) don’t look terribly appealing — for consumers or businesses.
Consumers who like their current insurance plans may soon watch them disappear. Those [...] [...]
Greenville’s DRMC first in state to transmit EKGs from ambulances
All over the state, technology is joining healthcare to make a difference in patient care. Delta Regional Medical Center in Greenville put that partnership into action with new technology through ZOLL Medical Corporation to aid in rapid cardiac management, allowing the hospital’s emergency medical services to [...] [...]
State Medical Association president sees both sides for Mississippi with healthcare reform
With some language of the federal Health Care Reform Act not going into effect until 2014, physicians in Mississippi are not sure at this point what the impact will be to patient care and their practices.
Tim J. Alford, M.D., is the new president of [...] [...]
The national physician-to-patient ratio average is four to 10,000. In the Mississippi Delta, it’s one per 10,000.
“We have a huge access-to-care problem,” said Karen Fox, president and CEO of the Delta Health Alliance (DHA), an organization created to address critical healthcare and wellness gaps in the Mississippi Delta.
Fox said the alliance is in the process [...] [...]
In addition to speculating about federal healthcare reform implementation, physicians are also wondering when Congress will provide an answer regarding an additional 21 percent cut to Medicare reimbursements that went into effect April 1.
Healthcare providers believe the cut will increasingly compromise healthcare access for Medicare patients, as doctors who serve those patients are taking a [...] [...]
Seven Jackson area hospitals are urging the attorney general to withdraw its February opinion exempting University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) from state Certificate of Need (CON) law. CON approval is required for the purchase of major medical equipment and hospital expansions.
The CON process is designed to help ensure the economic stability of community hospitals [...] [...]
