24 Jun Health Data News Roundup: AHIP and Provider Consolidation; Reforming Medicare Advantage; and Lots of TEFCA Feedback

Welcome to the Health Data Weekly News Round Up from IMAT Solutions. As the power of data continues to grow in the healthcare arena, today’s care organizations need to be on the forefront of all news and trends to help ensure that their data analytics efforts deliver accountable and informed care. Each week, we will provide you with the actionable news you need to meet these goals.

Pew Suggests ONC Use TEFCA to Improve Patient Matching Accuracy
TEFCA should include policies that promote patient matching accuracy and support modern approaches to data extraction through application programming interfaces (APIs), according to comments submitted by Pew Charitable Trusts.

AHIP Warns Congress of High Costs Tied to Provider Consolidation
Mergers and acquisitions are commonplace in healthcare, but leading payers in the United States claim provider consolidation is costing consumer, according to Senate testimony from AHUP.

MedPAC Seeks Changes to Medicare Advantage, Star Ratings Metrics
MedPAC recommends reforming Medicare Advantage star rating metrics through peer-grouping methodology and budget-neutral funding.

Dual Eligibility an Opportunity for Medicare Advantage Growth
Enrollment of dual eligible individuals in Medicare Advantage (MA) has been “lagging” even with MA numbers projected to hit 70 percent between 2030 and 2040, according to a recent analysis by LEK Consulting.

American Heart Association Initiative Boosts EHR Data Access for EMS
The American Heart Association recently launched a new collaborative initiative intended to improve EHR data access for emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, including first responders and telecommunication specialists.

AHA Presses ONC to Require QHINs to Support FHIR in TEFCA Draft
AHA requested that ONC restore requirements mandating that Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs) support FHIR, which were included in the first draft of TEFCA, but eliminated in later versions.

Sequoia Project Urges ONC to Avoid Disrupting HIEs Through TEFCA
In comments submitted to ONC, the Sequoia Project urged the federal agency to avoid unnecessarily disrupting or duplicating existing exchanges between HIEs and health information networks (HINs) in the TEFCA.