Newsroom
January 18, 2018
Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) is offering FREE technical assistance to help practices in Western North Carolina understand and enroll in the Quality Payment Program (QPP). You may earn a positive Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) payment adjustment for 2019 if you submit 2017 data by March 31, 2018. MIPS-eligible clinicians opting not to participate will receive a 4% reduction in Medicare reimbursement in 2019.
QPP is a revenue neutral program meaning that penalties will be assessed to low –performing providers and redistributed to providers performing well. MAHEC can help you determine your baseline score and aid you in developing a strategy going forward to maximize your score for Payment Year 2 and beyond.
Read more here.
Read more
January 11, 2018
CMS today announced new guidance that will support state efforts to improve Medicaid enrollee health outcomes by incentivizing community engagement among able-bodied, working-age Medicaid beneficiaries.
Read more
January 10, 2018
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) announced the launch of a new voluntary bundled payment model called Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced).
Read more
January 3, 2018
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that doctors and other eligible clinicians participating in the Quality Payment Program can begin submitting their 2017 performance data using a new system on the Quality Payment Program website (qpp.cms.gov). The data submission system is an improvement from the former systems under the CMS legacy programs, which required clinicians to submit data on multiple websites. Now, eligible clinicians will use the new system to submit their 2017 performance data for the Quality Payment Program during the 2017 submission period which runs from January 2, 2018 to March 31, 2018, except for groups using the CMS Web Interface whose submission period is January 22, 2018 to March 16, 2018.
Read more
December 21, 2017
As of yesterday, Henderson County’s pertussis outbreak had increased to 52 cases, mainly in school-aged children. So far, in Buncombe County, we have had 1 probable case (lab negative, but symptoms consistent with pertussis).
Please remain vigilant and continue to promote pertussis immunization for everyone, but especially those in their 3rd trimester of pregnancy or in contact with infants.
Read more
December 19, 2017
On Friday, December 15, local doctors, healthcare professionals, and community members met in the Asheville High School auditorium to debate “Healthcare: Right or Commodity?”
Read more
December 15, 2017
Literature has shown that prescribers receive little education on the treatment of pain, resulting in less effective pain treatment with worse outcomes. Attendees will learn the evidence-based analysis of the relative effectiveness of medications and their side effects, recommendations on how to improve treatment of acute and chronic pain, and recognizing substance use/opioid use disorders. This program will include the three required topics outlined by the new CME requirement in 21 NCAC 32R .0101:
Read more
December 6, 2017
As you are likely aware, an outbreak of pertussis is currently happening in Henderson County – as of last night, 10 cases have been identified, affecting numerous schools. Investigation and contact tracing by Henderson County Department of Public Health is ongoing. Additionally, other surrounding counties have confirmed cases.
Read more
December 4, 2017
Buncombe County, N.C., - The Crisis Intervention Program (CIP) and Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) provides federal funds to low–income families in a heating or cooling crisis or to those who are in danger of experiencing a life-threatening or health-related emergency and sufficient, timely, and appropriate assistance is not available from any other source.
Read more
November 22, 2017
CMS updates Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model for 2019
Expansion of model to 25 total states to provide Medicare beneficiaries with more choices and lower costs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced several updates to the Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model for 2019 that encourages customized benefit designs and flexibilities that meet the health needs of beneficiaries in a total of 25 states.
“This Administration is committed to making sure that our seniors have more choices and lower premiums in their Medicare Advantage plans,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “CMS expects that this demonstration will provide insights into future innovations for the Medicare Advantage program.”
CMS recently announced in the Medicare Advantage and Part D proposed rule that it is providing new flexibility for customized benefit designs that address the specific health needs of certain beneficiaries under Medicare Advantage. This allows additional plan variety and options, reduced cost sharing for customized benefits and different cost-sharing for beneficiaries that meet specific medical criteria
Read more
November 21, 2017
MAHEC hosts RWJF-funded workshop on December 7 to support shared decision making for patients
On December 7, the National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF) and the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) will host the first of two national skilled communications workshops to support shared decision making in healthcare.
"Person-centered care requires that patients and providers have the communications skills to talk about what matters at critical points in the treatment process,” shares Gwen Darien, NPAF executive vice president for patient advocacy. “This workshop brings patients, providers and community advocates together to identify and develop those skills.”
Read more
November 15, 2017
It has long been known that physicians are at high risk of depression and suicide, and the problem is not getting better. A study published this July in Academic Medicinefound that suicide was the second leading cause of death among resident physicians from 2000-2014 (the first in males). And it's clear that burnout can contribute to the problem, experts say. When Michael Myers, MD, was researching his book Why Physicians Die by Suicide: Lessons Learned by Families and Others Who Cared, he interviewed surviving family members of physicians who had killed themselves. "What they described was straightforward burnout," says Myers, professor of clinical psychiatry at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, and specialist in physician health.
Read more
November 14, 2017
Buncombe County Commissioners will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, November 14 to announce the filing of a lawsuit in the fight against the distribution of opioids.
Read more
November 13, 2017
The Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) is offering Basic Life Support in Obstetrics (BLSOSM) trainings on November 30 and December 11 at its Biltmore campus to help healthcare providers, first responders and emergency personnel effectively manage normal deliveries and obstetrical emergencies.
Read more
November 6, 2017
By: Tammy Dills, RN, Harris Regional Hospital and Swain Community Hospital, Director Care Management
It’s no secret that being sick is the pits, whether it’s a nasty virus that clears up after a few days or a long-term condition like cancer or diabetes. And while illness obviously takes a big toll on the patient, it can have just as big of an impact on the primary caregivers, particularly when the illness extends over a long period of time.
That’s why this November, in honor of National Family Caregivers Month, Harris Regional Hospital wants to help take care of the caregivers in our community. And according to the Caregiver Action Network (CAN), there are quite a few. Currently, more than 90 million Americans act as primary caregiver for a family member who is living with a chronic medical condition or battling the fragile effects that come with old age.
Read more