Friday Five: Top 5 healthcare business news items from the MCOL Weekend edition

Every business day, MCOL posts feature stories making news on the business of health care. Here are five we think are particularly important for this week: Good Deals for Some, Sticker Shock for Others As ACA Enrollment Winds Down In most states, Friday night is the last chance to sign up for Affordable Care Act health insurance for 2018. The enrollment period is half as long as last year’s, and it got just a fraction of the marketing budget to tell consumers that. Kaiser Health News Friday, December 15, 2017 HHS greenlights secret pilot for Medicare Advantage to get real-time access to patient discharge records The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General has given permission for a drug company to start a pilot program that will allow a private Medicare Advantage plan real-time access to a hospital's electronic patient discharge records, according to an HHS letter posted December 11. Healthcare Finance Wednesday, December 13, 2017 Hospitals Are Merging to Face Off With Insurers A spate of hospital deals stands to further remake the U.S. health-care landscape, pushing up prices for consumers and insurers and changing how individuals get care. Just this month, health systems with at least 166 hospitals and $39 billion in combined annual revenue have announced merger plans. Bloomberg Physicians argue Anthem's ER policy violates federal law Physicians are concerned about a new policy Anthem is rolling out in Indiana in January, according to WBOI. Under the new policy, which is already effective in three other states, Anthem will review diagnoses after members' emergency room visits. If the condition is determined to be nonemergent, Anthem may not cover the ER visit. Becker's Hospital Review Monday, December 11, 2017 8.8 million Americans face big tax hike if Republicans scrap the medical deduction Anne Hammer is one of millions of elderly Americans who could face a substantial tax hike in 2018 depending on the final negotiations over the Republican tax bill. In her retirement community in Chestertown, Md., it’s the big topic of conversation. The Washington Post Sunday, December 10, 2017 These and more weekly news items on the business of healthcare are featured in the MCOL Weekend edition, along with the MCOL Tidbits, and more, for MCOL Premium level members.