BCBSKS announced a 2.5 percent increase for contracted prescribing providers for all services, except clinical lab, pharmacy and pharmaceuticals, for participation and use in an approved health information exchange in Kansas.

While this incentive payment begins on January 1, 2015, it is important to note that the period utilized to determine the query count and qualify for the incentive is the August 1-October 31, 2014, quarter. Thus, providers need to be searching now for patients in the approved exchanges to receive the incentive payment in January 1, 2015.
 

KHIN and BCBSKS developed FAQs in response to questions that have been raised by providers and hospitals.

Nationally, three-quarters of eligible professionals and nine in ten eligible hospitals received incentive payments for the Meaningful Use of certified electronic technology. Significant advances in health information exchange were also reported. More than six in ten hospitals electronically exchanged patients' health information outside their organization, a 51 percent increase since 2008.

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In United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court held section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to be unconstitutional. Section 3 of DOMA had provided that federal law would recognize only opposite-sex marriages.

In light of this ruling, healthcare providers must apply the HIPAA Privacy Rule to same-sex spouses and dependents of same-sex marriages regardless of their own state's current laws.

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