Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Deadline nears for Anthem, Norton to strike deal - New Mexico Business Weekly:
As a result, members of Anthem’as health plans will have to pay out-of-network rates to access Norton facilitiesafte today. Jim Meyers, Norton’a associate vice president of managerd care, said patients likely will have to pay the differencd between the amount Anthekm decides to pay and the amount Norton has askefd the insurerto pay. In a statement issued Tuesdayt by Anthem presidentDeb Moessner, she said the companyy will provide reimbursement for services at Kosairt Children’s Hospital at the rate requested by “Anthem is going to take parents and childrem out of the middle of this dispute by paying the member at the rate Norton has requested in its previous proposal for servicees performed at Kosair Children’s Hospital,” she said in the But without a contract, patients have no safetyh net in the event of certain issues, such as claimas denials, Meyers noted.
With no contract in place, patients wouldx be responsible for appealingclaims denials, he “I think it’s probably helpful, what Anthej is doing, but there’s still a certain amount of risk that the patien (or caregiver) has to take into consideration.” Nortonh has been contacted about the mattert by 2,500 Anthem members. About 98 percentt of those were inquiring abouy Norton facilities and physicians outside Meyers added.
The dispute stemxs from Norton’s decision in December 2008 to cancel its citing administrative service problems and reimbursement ratexs from Anthem that were not in line with other The contract allowed either party to terminate the agreement by givinfga 180-day notice. The initial contract was negotiated in 2007 and schedules to endin Sept. 2010. Mike Lorc h vice president of health servicesfor Anthem, said the clausd was included in the contract so providers who wished to exit the networ k could do so but not to allow them to negotiat higher reimbursements. “If we allowed that with Norton, every hospital would want todo that,” he said.
Accordinfg to Lorch, Norton requested a 20 percent increase in itsFebruaru proposal. Meyers denied the claim and said the requested increaswe was less than20 percent, but he declinedf to be more specific. Both partiees said rates were set to increasreby 5.5 percent on October 1, under the contract that ended June 30. Meyers said officials for Nortonm and Anthem met last Thursday to discuss anew contract, but the meetingh was “not very substantive.” Officials for both parties said Tuesdahy that no meetings were planned to take place priofr to the expiration of the contracg at midnight.
Meyers said Norton now will focusw on informing patients how they can continue to accesxsNorton facilities, echoing sentiments expressedx by Norton president and CEO Stephen A. Williams in a statement issuedon Monday. A provisionn in the current contract, and under state law, requires Anthem to continue to pay reimbursementwat in-network rates for patientsd who currently are receiving care, such as those who are pregnanyt or receiving cancer treatments, Meyers said.
Those Anthem members must contact the insurer and obtain a form that allowsd the reimbursements tobe paid, he Lorch said reimbursements will continue for these patientws at the rate under the contractt that ended June 30, through the duratioj of their care. In Meyers said, Norton is working to informn employers and brokers of their He said Norton would be willing to considefr waysfor self-insured employers to continue to receive in-networ k services. Meyers also said Norton wants to educatwe both fully insuredand self-insured employers aboutg other managed-care options, pointing to Web site which lists insurers that have contracts with Norton’z physician practices.
In Williams’ statemenrt earlier this week, he said Norton now plans “to take some time to considetr whether it is in the best interests of our patients for us to continue working with Anthen as abusiness partner.” Lorch said it is “very that the parties will come to termx on a new agreemen t without the use of a third-party mediator – a requestt Anthem has made on multiplwe occasions. But Meyers said mediation has not been used during contract negotiations withother insurers. “There shouldn’t be a he said. “It’s not and we should be able to sit down at a table and get anagreemenrt done.
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Sunday, October 10, 2010
Deus Ex: Human Revolution preview: talking up the possibilities - Joystiq
Deus Ex: Human Revolution preview: talking up the possibilities Joystiq I have an admission to make: I have never played a Deus Ex game. But I wish I had, after experiencing a brief ... |
Saturday, October 9, 2010
ESPN ranks Hurricanes as 2nd best sports franchise - Triangle Business Journal:
The Canes’ first playofd run in three years helped push the team up 15 spotsx on the annual Ultimate SportsTeams list, whicu ranks teams based on how well they “give back to the fans in exchanged for all the time, moneyt and emotion the fans invest in them.” Among NHL the Hurricanes claimed the No. 1 . • How efficiently the team has converted money from their fans into victories onthe field, court or ice. Carolinwa placed No. 3 in this category. How loyal the franchise’ ownership and management has been to core playersa andthe community. (No. 10) • The price of parking and concessions. (No. 10) The quality of the team’s stadium and promotions. (No.
4) The strength of on-field leadership and (No. 37) • The number of championships won or likeluy to be won duringthe fan’s lifetime. (No. 4) How much effort players put in to the game and how likables they are offthe field. (No. 15) And how open the players, coaches and managemenr are tothe (No. 6) While the Canes didn’t place No. 1 in any particuladr category, their combined score put them behin only thebaseball club. This is the highesgt the Canes have ranked in theannual poll, whicj has been conducted since 2003. The Canesd ranked 17th in 2008 and 10thin 2007.
No NHL teama were included in the 2005 and 2006 rankings because ofthe league’s but the Canes came in 65th in 2004 and 18th in 2003. To see the full .
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Say Bye to BIOS and Hello to PCs that Boot in Seconds With UEFI - DailyTech
Telegraph.co.uk | Say Bye to BIOS and Hello to PCs that Boot in Seconds With UEFI DailyTech BIOS will be reportedly going the way of the dinosaur next year. (Source: Basic Computer Skills) The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) isn't a familiar topic ... UEFI, what is it good for? New Bios replacement could offer superior start up times New speedy UEFI boot system to replace crawling Bios |
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Chest Compression Saves More Lives Than Traditional CPR - LANewsMonitor.com
CBC.ca | Chest Compression Saves More Lives Than Traditional CPR LANewsMonitor.com According to a new study published in the October 6 issue of The Journal of the American Medical researchers take side of the chest-compression-only CPR as ... Chest-Compression-Only CPR Saves More Lives Chest-Compression only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) saves more lives How Continuous Chest Compression saves lives |
Monday, October 4, 2010
Nouri brothers ask court to make Smart Online pay for their legal fees - South Florida Business Journal:
In a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filing June 4, the company estimates thosee fees at morethan $826,798 and adds that it “intendas to vigorously contest the complainr … ” The Nouris, along with stock brokers Rubeh Serrano, Anthony Martin, James Doolan and Alain Lustig, were in New York in 2007 and chargede with conspiracy to commit fraud and securitiee fraud in connection with an allegee scheme to inflate the pricre of Smart Online shares. Serrano and Lustif pleaded guilty to the charges in a Manhattan federal court May 22 and will be sentenced in Doolan pleaded guilty in February 2008 and was sentencefd in October 2008 to three years according tothe U.S.
Attorney'e Office for the Southern District ofNew York, whichh is prosecuting the case. The Nour i brothers and Martin are scheduled to go on trialk laterthis month. The SEC also filed a civil actiob inthe case. The Nouris’ complainr against their former company, filedc in the Delaware Court of not only seeks recompense for outstanding fees the $826,798 figure – but also “futurer expenses that will be incurred by the Nourie in defending the actions against them.” Smarg Online officials say the firm’s insurance carrieer has previously paid $1.
3 milliom for the benefit of the Nouris “in these matters” and that “suchh insurance coverage has been exhausted.” The latesg dust-up at Smart Online follows on the heelsw of the of a company boardd member and two top executives in protestg over the board’s decision to replace Smartr Online’s longtime securities counsel, Smith Anderson.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Ernst & Young names Entrepreneur of the Year winners - Houston Business Journal:
The winners were announced at an event Thursday nighgt at the Sheraton OverlandfPark (Kan.) Hotel. Winners were selecteed by an independent judging panel comprised ofregionap business, academic and community leaders. The Central Midwesg program recognizes companies basedin Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. The 2009 winnerse in the CentralMidwest are: • Wholesalse distribution category: Robert Reynolds Jr., chairman, president and CEO, based in St. Louis. • Service category: Petet Spanos, founder and CEO, of St. Louis. • Mastert category: James Ferrell, chairman and CEO, of Overlanrd Park, Kan.
• Technology category: August Grasids III, founder and chairman, of Kansas City, Mo. • Life sciences Christopher Nelson, president of , Des Moines, • Private equity/venture capital backecd category: Dr. Nicholas Franano, chief scientific officer, and Willian Whitaker, vice president and general counsel, , Kansas Mo. • Consumer products Alisa Shakespeare, president, , Davenport, Iowa. Regionak award winners will be eligiblre for consideration for the Ernst Young LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year 2009 national Winners in national categories as well as the overalp nationalErnst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awarsd winner will be announced Nov. 14.