Practice Management
Legislators in New Jersey have passed legislation aimed at increasing the transparency of health care prices, especially fees for services rendered by out-of-network providers. When it takes effect less than 90 days from now, healthcare facilities and providers will be required to give patients information on network status prior to delivering nonemergent or nonurgent care. That last stipulation is what should be of interest to urgent care operators: The law says care provided on an …
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West Virginia and Florida are the latest states to seek a legislative solution to the nation’s ongoing crisis of opioid misuse, abuse, and related deaths. In West Virginia, the state senate just voted unanimously to limit new painkiller prescriptions for most patients to a 7-day supply, though the number would be lower for urgent care centers and emergency rooms (4 days) and for dentists and ophthalmologists (3 days). Florida is looking at a bill that …
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After stutters and starts, Texas became the last state in the U.S. to enact legislation allowing doctors to treat patients virtually. Proponents argue that it was sorely needed, as Texas ranks 46th in the country in the number of primary care physicians per capita—71.4 PCPs for every 100,000 residents, according to telehealth provider Teledoc; 35 counties don’t have a family physician at all. Teladoc actually started operating in Texas in 2005, but the state medical …
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While previous attempts have crashed and burned, proposed new legislation could move California one step closer to a single-payer healthcare system. Proponents in the state senate say it is the “intent of the Legislature” to enact such a law “for the benefit of everyone in the state.” However, specific details and a prospective timetable have not been revealed. If it does pass and ultimately get signed into law, the measure would replace private insurance in …
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Legislators in New Jersey are weighing the relative benefits of telemedicine in order to ensure the evolving technology is used properly—namely, that there’s no danger of virtual doctor visits taking the place of in-person care then the latter is clearly needed. Advocates point out that sometimes patients need to see a physician after even urgent care centers have close, though their symptoms don’t warrant an expensive trip to the emergency room. Detractors say some patients …
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Urgent care operators who face competition from freestanding emergency rooms should emphasize cost differences compared with urgent care, and remind patients that vigilance may be needed to tell the difference between the two. Patients in Texas, for example, are finding that a new law requiring freestanding emergency rooms to post notices that fees may be comparable to a hospital emergency room doesn’t go far enough in preventing surprisingly big bills postcare. One problem: The nature …
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The West Virginia House of Delegates has approved a bill that would give advanced practice registered nurses more authority to treat patients and prescribe medications without a physician’s supervision. If the state senate also passes the “Nurse Practitioners Bill,” West Virginia will become the 22nd state allowing nurse practitioners to do so. The senate has already proposed two amendments to the version passed by the house; one would establish an advisory board to put forth …
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The “ayes” had it as Congress approved a three-year pilot program that waives preauthorization for Tricare beneficiaries who want to visit an urgent care center. Tricare provides civilian health benefits for military personnel, military retirees, and their dependents. Part of the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, the program will take effect six months after President Obama signs the bill (S. 1356) into law. At the end of year 1 of the pilot, the …
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