AMA just did its members a favor with Wellness Visit brochures that should dispel some of the confusion about what gets covered.

You could get more time to prepare for the industry-switch to ICD-10. CMS announced it would reconsider the current ICD-10 timeline in which 

the entire health care industry would have to comply by Oct. 1, 2013 at the AMA’s National Advocacy Conference in Washington Tuesday.

CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner said the agency plans to “re-examine the pace” of implementing ICD-10, marking the first public indication that the 2013 implementation date is not as firm as CMS has repeatedly said it is.

“We want to work with you to make implementation successful,” Tavenner told conference attendees during her keynote address. “I'm committed to you today to work with you to re-examine the pace we implement ICD-10.”

Got five minutes? WBUR in Boston has created an animated cartoon to explain the concept of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). It's very basic, and the jokes are awful, but at least it has a properly cynical attitude ("I'm having a nasty flashback. It sounds like what I remember the 1990s when my HMO wouldn't pay for my treatments") and explains capitation and pay for performance in a way that even we understood.

The Obama administration unveiled the finalized format for which health insurers to display their policies on Feb. 9, HHS states in a news release. With a Nutrition Label-esque simplicity the new template is supposed to make it easier for patients to understand the terms of their health plans and pick ones that are best suited.

CMS hasn’t forgotten about its promise to update the Provider Enrollment Chain Ownership System (PECOS) website with a user-friendly “fast-track” feature (PBN 9/26/11). Now, instead of the late-January go-live date initially promised, the feature will launch April 1, says David Zetter, a consultant with Zetter Healthcare Management Consultants in Mechanicsburg, Pa. who has been working with CMS on the PECOS changes.