News in brief - Jan. 31, 2011

Blue Shield rates to undergo independent review

After an outcry from physicians and state and national regulators, Blue Shield of California said it will submit its most recent rate increases to an independent actuarial review to verify the company's compliance with medical spending rules.

Blue Shield said Jan. 14 that David Axene, the actuary who reviewed a planned rate hike by Anthem Blue Cross of California in 2010, will look at Blue Shield's filing. Blue Shield has raised rates on individual customers three times since October 2010, translating to a cumulative increase reportedly as high as 59%. The latest planned increase would average 15%, according to the company.

Under California law, the insurance commissioner may review planned rate increases to verify that insurers will attain a minimum medical-loss ratio, but the commissioner does not have the authority to reject or approve the increases. In 2010, Anthem revised its planned rate increase from an average hike of 25% to 14% after Axene identified mathematical errors in the company's cost projections.

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CCHIT creates certification for homegrown EMRs

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology announced the creation of a certification program for hospitals that have custom-designed their electronic medical record systems. A similar certification program for homegrown EMR systems in physician practices is in the works, the organization said.

The hospital certification program, the EHR Alternative Certification for Hospitals, or EACH, launched on Jan. 18. CCHIT said it expects the program, which is geared toward physician practices or other ambulatory settings that have developed their own EMRs, to launch by the second quarter of this year.

CCHIT offers certification for individual modules of a complete EMR system. To qualify for the federal government's meaningful use incentives, organizations or individuals must possess EMR systems with the capability of performing all functions included in initial meaningful use requirements.

This content was published online only.

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