But the deadline (this past Jan. 1) remains the same. Back in November, you'll recall, CMS gave a break to practices who weren't ready to implement the new ASC X12 Version 5010 standards for HIPAA transaction security. They didn't push back the actual deadline -- but they did say they "would not initiate enforcement action until March 31, 2012." 

Now here we are, mid-March, and 5010 has remained a sore point, with practice advocates calling for another extension. 

CMS held a provider call Monday, March 12, on the Proposed Rule for Stage 2 Meaningful Use EHR stardards. If you couldn't make the call, here's a breakdown of what you missed:

New details on the ICD-10 delay were scarce at the ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meeting in Baltimore on March 5.

CMS has yet to decide how much extra time there will be or whether the current partial code freeze on ICD-9 will be lifted. The federal agency is in information-gathering mode, Denise Buenning, director of administrative simplification in CMS’ Office of e-Health Standards and Services, told meeting attendees. CMS is receiving feedback from stakeholders such as providers, coders, payers and software vendors, she said.

Told to pick a health plan on price, a study finds, consumers choose the most expensive option. Is that really surprising?

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) funded a study, results of which appear in the journal Health Affairs, that followed 1,421 workers who were given varying levels of information about health insurance plans and asked to pick.

Those of you who have been providing annual wellness visits (AWVs) in 2012 can now download an encounter form designed specifically for the subsequent visit. Download the file by going to the March Tool of the Month article and clicking the "Download File" link at the top. If you're interested in DecisionHealth's full set of AWV encounter tools, go to http://pbn.decisionhealth.com/Articles/Detail.aspx?id=511707.