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Two Republicans have announced a change in Obamacare they are pushing. It would eliminate the mandate and instead get a $2500 tax credit per adult and a $1500 credit per child up to $8000 per family. This money could be used to buy insurance in the employer arena, put into a Roth Health Savings Account of be received as a payment. The proposed law would eliminate many of the mandates that make Obamacare the world's most expensive insurance.
Oklahoma passed but the governor vetoed a bill that would have made it a felony to perform an abortion. The governor said and even the maker of the bill agreed that the bill would be in direct contradiction to federal law. The maker wanted a challenge to Roe v Wade.
Vermont has taken the concept of Obamacare paying for abortions and birth control to the next level. They are mandating vasectomies be paid for by Obamacare just as women's birth control is mandated.
California Department of Insurance is investigating Health Net about its practices of delaying payments to addiction treatment centers. They seem to be not paying and using as an excuse the old saw that they are looking for fraud. This investigation is also being conducted by the state's Department of Managed Care. Similar complaints about the insurer have been filed in Arizona. Treatment centers have stopped taking patients with Health Net insurance. Top
Connecticut has cut the legs out from the hospital control of physicians by allowing con-compete clauses for no more than one year and less than 15 miles. It also prohibits hospitals from non-competes with physicians to to into private practice or join groups not affiliated with another hospital.
Alaska has suspended the license of Dr. Mahmood Ahmad for prescribing large amounts of pain killers for cash. He had been investigated prior by the Arkansas Medical Board for the same thing and those charges were dropped.
The California Board has put anesthesiologist Mary Vreeke on probation. This allows her to continue to practice but does random drug testing. She was accused of stealing meds from hospitals. She has been in recovery for the past three years. Top
HHS has clarified billing charges for medical records. One may bill over the $6.50 limit by calculating the actual costs and informing the requesting individual in advance of the charges. They may also use a schedule of costs based on average allowable labor costs for standard requests. If there is EHR involved a flat fee not including postage, labor and supplies is $6.50. If a request is not standard extra may be charged but the person requesting must be told in advance of the fee. Top
DISCLAIMER: Although this article is updated periodically, it reflects the author's point of view at the
time of publication. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Readers
should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the
information presented.