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To combat rising health care costs, should Colorado let people buy into Medicaid?

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Health insurance costs are reaching crisis levels for many Colorado families, so state lawmakers want to study the idea of allowing anyone to buy into Medicaid. Reported by Denver Post 19 hours ago.

State Supreme Court orders Medicaid to pay $2M to hospitals

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Supreme Court is ordering the state’s Medicaid program to pay back $2 million to 12 hospitals, saying the agency improperly skimped on reimbursement for services. The Thursday decision upholds a suit the hospitals filed saying the state-federal health insurance program had illegally changed its payment formula for radiology and […] Reported by Seattle Times 18 hours ago.

Audit: Idaho owes $3.1 million for health insurance bonus

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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Auditors say that Idaho was overpaid $3.1 million and should repay the money given to them by a federal agency to cover children on government health insurance. The Idaho Statesman reports that an audit by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests that […] Reported by Seattle Times 16 hours ago.

SASid, Inc. Announces New Vice President Of Sales: Mike Watts

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Mike Watts joins SASid (Smart and Simple insurance development) as Vice President of Sales and a member of the company's senior management team.

JANESVILLE, Wisc. (PRWEB) April 16, 2018

SASid, Inc., a premier provider of insurance product development and SaaS administration solutions, announced today that Mike Watts has joined the Company as its Vice President of Sales. In this role, Mike will lead the company's sales teams and business development efforts.

"I am pleased to welcome Mike Watts to SASid," said Shannon Kennedy, SASid's Co-founder and President. "Mike's leadership in developing high-performing sales teams, generating exceptional amounts of new revenue, and experience working with insurance distribution partnerships is the perfect mix of expertise that will be beneficial to the continued growth and success of SASid."

For nearly 15 years, Mike has led increasing levels of sales responsibilities at Tokio Marine HCC Medical Insurance Group (Indianapolis), a health insurance company based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Recently, Watts served as the Director of Sales of the company's Short Term Medical and International Health division, leading the team responsible for selling Short Term Medical and International health insurance which was responsible for generating more than a hundred million in new business annually.

Watts will also lead the search for SASid’s expansion for a new office location in Indianapolis in 2018. “Indianapolis has a tremendous amount of talent in the insurance claims and marketing sectors,” said Kennedy. SASid is actively looking for talent to expand its claims paying ability in the Short Term Medical insurance market.

ABOUT SASid
Insurance can be complex and confusing; at SASid our passion is to combat this notion. In fact, our name is an acronym for “Smart and Simple insurance development” and we work hard to live up to it.

SASid’s mission is to build, market, and administrate niche health and supplemental insurance products and systems which help people; to create insurance products and technologies which are simple to understand, quote, purchase and smart to have. Founded in 1998, SASid Inc. is privately held and has been awarded numerous awards for business growth. More information is available at http://www.SASid.com Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.

Sonatype Survey Reveals Massive Data Breaches are Catalysts for DevSecOps Investments

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As open source breaches jump 55%, DevOps teams automate security 338% more often

SAN FRANCISCO - RSA Conference, April 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sonatype, the leader in automated open source governance and DevSecOps, today published findings from its 5th annual DevSecOps Community Survey of 2,076 IT professionals. The survey shares practitioner perspectives on evolving DevSecOps practices, shifting investments, and changing perceptions.  Survey respondents with mature DevOps practices were 338% more likely to integrate automated security than organizations with no DevOps practice.

After another record year of breaches, analysis of responses found that 3 in 10 organizations suspected or verified breaches stemming from vulnerabilities in open source components -- a 55% increase over 2017, and 121% increase since 2014.
This year’s survey also found that investments in open source governance (44%), container security (56%), and web application firewalls (58%) were noted as the most critical to organizations pursuing DevSecOps transformations.

“As application breaches tied to open source components jumped more than 50% year over year, those investing in DevSecOps showed 85% higher levels of cyber readiness, compared to those who aren’t,” said Wayne Jackson, CEO of Sonatype. “It’s evident that recent high profile breaches have heightened investments in DevSecOps.  The survey also revealed strong investments from organizations striving to stay ahead of May 2018’s ‘secure by design’ requirement stipulated within the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)”.

Other key findings from the survey include:

· 77% of mature DevOps organizations have open source policies in place, with a 76% adherence rate. Conversely, only 58% of respondents without mature DevOps practices had a policy with a 54% adherence rate -- revealing that adding automated governance to DevSecOps is difficult to ignore.

· 59% of mature DevOps organizations are building more security automation into their development process as attention toward GDPR compliance grows.

· 88% of those with mature DevOps practices are investing in application security training, while 35% with immature practices said they had no access to security training. This finding points to stronger cybersecurity readiness postures of those investing in DevOps.

· 63% of respondents with mature DevOps practices say they leverage security products to identify vulnerabilities in containers, as these components become more ubiquitous in modern IT landscapes.

· 48% of respondents admitted that Developers know application security is important, but they don’t have the time to spend on it, shedding light on the growth in automated security investments.

Resources:

· Download the 2018 DevSecOps Community Survey
· Read our latest blogs on the survey findings

Supporting Quotes:

“The appeal of using one technology that’s free rather than buying a licenced, chargeable piece of software is apparent. But so are the risks.  It is concerning that some developers are simply ignoring the policies crafted and communicated for their organisations, likely for the sake of speed and costs.”

-  Helen Beal, DevOpsologist | Ranger4

“We’re beginning to realize that the ‘Culture of No’ that has characterized traditional Security Organizations in reality is the ‘Culture of I don’t know’.  Security needs to be able to explain the technical importance of vulnerabilities, the likelihood of their occurrence, why they are important to address, and most of all assist developers with technical solutions to remediate. Only then can we be a true collaborator in DevSecOps.”

- DJ Schleen, Information Security Architect | Health Insurance Industry

“It seems that DevOps with a security mindset is not enough. Full-blown DevSecOps – in which security is a foundational principle of software delivery and considered from the word ‘go’ – is needed.”

- Benjamin Wootton, Co-founder and CTO | Contino

“As more software is layered into an ecosystem, more automation will make management less challenging. Automating security tooling into container based workflows will become a critical piece of every major organization's security posture. Remember, always be shifting left.”  

- Chris Short, Sr. DevOps Advocate | SJ Technologies

“There isn’t simply one easy way to overhaul your company’s culture, policy, or structure.  More importantly, this is not a practical approach. The key to successful transformations lie in how development organizations can leverage the knowledge, experience, and tools from within their security teams to develop secure applications from inception to deployment.”

- Hasan Yasar, Technical Manager of the Secure Lifecycle Solutions Group, CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute | Carnegie Mellon University

“It’s not only about automating development, deployment and security; it’s also about changing the way all parts of an organization - technical and otherwise - are involved in the software development lifecycle. If you think about it, you see that in big organizations DevSecOps is really DevSecOpsAndEverybodyElse.”

-  Oleg Gryb, Chief Security Architect | Financial Services Industry
About the Survey

The 2018 DevSecOps Community Survey provides visibility into the attitudes of software professionals toward DevOps best practices and the changing role of application security. The survey was conducted by Sonatype, Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute, Contino, DZone, Ranger4, SJ Technologies, and Signal Sciences. The survey’s margin of error is ±2.02 percentage points for 2,076 IT professionals at the 95% confidence level.  

About Sonatype

More than 10 million software developers rely on Sonatype to innovate faster while mitigating security risks inherent in open source.  Sonatype’s Nexus platform combines in-depth component intelligence with real-time remediation guidance to automate and scale open source governance across every stage of the modern DevOps pipeline.  Sonatype is privately held with investments from New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Accel Partners, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, and Goldman Sachs.

*Attachments*

· Open Source Breaches
· Development Lifecycle

CONTACT: Elissa Walters
Sonatype
ewalters@sonatype.com Reported by GlobeNewswire 57 minutes ago.

Colorado employers, employees feel squeeze of rising health-insurance costs, new report says

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Colorado employers are paying health-insurance rate increases above the national average, even as they pay salary increases in line with countrywide norms, according to the latest annual survey from Lockton Companies. The results mean that both employers and employees are feeling squeezed. Employers continue to shift health-insurance costs to employees in ways that include increased deductibles and worker contributions. But in a highly competitive landscape for workers, many companies are eating… Reported by bizjournals 22 hours ago.

Is KidsCare headed for another enrollment freeze?

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A bill that would take a funding cut for the state's child health insurance program off automatic pilot is stalled in the Arizona Legislature.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Reported by azcentral.com 18 hours ago.

StoneGate Senior Living Launches Global Liaison Program to Enhance Seamless Care for Texas Seniors and Expands Central Intake Center in Texas

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StoneGate Senior Living announces its Global Liaison program, which delivers a seamless contact point for patients across its services and programs, and the expansion of its Central Intake Center, a free service streamlining the incoming medical referral process.

LEWISVILLE, Texas (PRWEB) April 16, 2018

Award-winning senior care and housing company launches white glove patient service resource. In a move to further enhance its award-winning standard of care for Texas’ seniors, StoneGate Senior Living, LLC announces its Global Liaison program for the Greater Dallas/ Fort Worth region, effective April 19th, 2018. The program delivers a seamless contact point for patients across its myriad of services and programs, ensuring each patient receives even greater levels of coordinated care across its 13 participating facilities.

“StoneGate Senior Living’s communities have earned recognition and awards for their programs serving seniors’ minds, bodies and spirits,” says Angela Norris, RN & StoneGate Senior Living Senior Vice President of Business Development. “The launch of our Global Liaison program ensures our patients and their families will have even greater levels of ease and access to the highly-successful programs offered in our network of exceptional skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities.”

The Global Liaison program will ensure that a thorough analysis is conducted for a patient, evaluating their needs and pertinent information, including insurance coverage, prior to admission. The goal of this service is to ensure optimal care quality and customer satisfaction beginning at the time of hospital-to-skilled nursing facility transfer.

The Global Liaison team member will discuss ease of access to the StoneGate’s spectrum of care and lifestyle-enriching programs, including such offerings as the Dining Your Way restaurant-style dining program, which features the option of pre-ordering selected meals; Life Works Wellness, an exhilarating exercise program calibrated to the unique needs of each senior, customized levels of support for each senior’s need, property design with a focus on well-being as well as pleasing aesthetics, and a third-party listening program that ensures each family and patient’s voice can be heard by a neutral, external resource.

Participating Texas facilities include: Accel at Willow Bend, located in Plano; Baybrooke Village Care and Rehabilitation Center, McKinney; Emerald Hills Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, North Richland, Garnet Hill Rehabilitation & Skilled Care, Wylie; Lakewest Rehabilitation & Skilled Care, Dallas; Ridgeview Rehabilitation & Skilled Nursing, Cleburne; Settlers Ridge Care Center, Celina; The Homestead of Sherman, Sherman; The Plaza at Richardson, Richardson; Town East Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, Mesquite; Villages on MacArthur, Irving; and Williamsburg Village Healthcare Campus, DeSoto. (Simpson Place, Dallas – Coming Summer 2018)

In addition to the Global Liaison program, StoneGate is expanding its Central Intake Center (CIC).

The CIC's mission is to streamline the process of incoming medical referrals, assessing which communities would be a good fit for a patient and whether those buildings have the availability to support the coordinated patient care between hospitals and post-acute care. The CIC also validates health insurance benefits and secures prior authorizations from managed care organizations when necessary. The CIC will work in tandem with the Global Liaisons.

The CIC, which first launched in all Dallas/Fort Worth locations in September 2017, will now coordinate medical referrals to Houston’s Pathways Memory Care and Villa Toscana at Cypress Woods, and College Station’s Accel at College Station. Longview’s Treviso Transitional Care is also included in the expansion. The centralized referral system is aimed at ensuring the continuity of patient care and expediting admissions for the medical care community.

Located in StoneGate Senior Living’s headquarters in Lewisville, Texas, CIC is a free service available to patients, families, and medical professionals seeking post-acute short-term placement in a skilled nursing & rehabilitation center or long-term care in a nursing home. The CIC’s referral service can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 833-EZ-ADMIT (833-392-3648).

About StoneGate Senior Living, LLC
StoneGate Senior Living, LLC provides support services to senior living and care properties that offer skilled health care, assisted living, memory support and independent living locations in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas. Founded and led by a team of senior living industry veterans, StoneGate understands that careful attention to customer expectations is vital to the success of a senior living and care community.

Learn more at http://www.stonegatesl.com/. Reported by PRWeb 20 hours ago.

Inspiring Future Health Care Engineers: SJHS Robotics Challenge Final

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Health System and Robotics Studio team up to inspire kids to enter the world of health care engineering through a robotics challenge with naming rights to surgical systems used in the hospital for the winners.

MISHAWAKA, IND (PRWEB) April 16, 2018

Twenty-two student teams in grades 4 - 8 have been working hard to make sure the robots they built and programmed are ready for their final event in the Saint Joseph Health System (SJHS) Robotics Challenge on April 22. At stake are naming rights for two robotic surgical systems used at SJHS Mishawaka Medical Center.

“Keeping the young minds of our community interested in the fields of science, math engineering and technology is crucial for the future of health care,” said Dr. Matthew Folstein, medical director of robotic surgery at SJHS. “Robotics is such a large part of our care today and will continue to grow. This generation has a significant ability to impact how health care looks and feels in the future.”

Launched in January, the challenge series was created through a partnership between SJHS and Granger Exploration and Robotics Studio (GEARS). GEARS is a non-profit organization designed to help kids explore and learn about science, math and technology through robotics. Each challenge hosts a chance for teams to compete with their robots, and learn about the use of robots in healthcare.

The first of the four challenges gave students a glimpse of a robot used in knee surgeries, the MAKO Surgical RIO™ Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic Systems. Kids got a hands-on experience where they plotted the surgery site with landmarks, registered arrays, cut with a saw bone and attached implants. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Sieradzki was on hand to guide students through the experience.

The second event featured the InTouch Telehealth robot, used to connect patients with specialty physicians through virtual interaction, real-time audio and visual consultations. Students and staff at SJHS Plymouth Medical Center engaged in a real-time role play of a patient and physician interaction.

At the third challenge, students and coaches got the chance to ask general surgery team lead and da Vinci coordinator Megan Conyveou about her role as a nurse in the world of robotics. She described how she assists the surgeon in repairing hernias using the robot, and the reduced recovery time robots have introduced.

“Robotics competitions are held all around the world,” said Scott Chase, owner of GEARS. “But giving our students a chance to see how robots are used in hospitals today is invaluable and hopefully inspiring.”

The challenge finale will be held at the South Bend Mini Makers Faire, where winners will be announced. Competing students, as well as faire goers, will have the chance to encounter a hands-on experience on the Intuitive Surgical da Vinci Surgical System Xi®, which is used in a variety of procedures such as colon resections, hernia repairs and treatment for endometriosis. Folstein will show students how he uses the robot with patients during his surgeries.

The two winning teams will be invited to a “Doctors for the Day” tour, guided by Folstein and the SJHS surgical team. Students also will have a chance to see the chosen names inscribed on the robotic systems during a naming celebration.

In addition, these two teams, as well as the third-place team, will receive robotic equipment for future competitions. Currently, the Washing MISHines team has a one-point lead for first place. Trailing closely behind are the Holy LEGOs, Amazzi, and Creative Crusaders.

The South Bend Mini Makers Faire will be held at Success Academy, located at 3408 Ardmore Trail, South Bend, Indiana. The SJHS Robotics challenge will begin at 10:30 am with an awards ceremony at 3:30 pm in the Main Gym. The special presentation, final competition and award ceremony can be seen live by visiting the Saint Joseph Health System Facebook page at 10:30 am on April 22.

About Saint Joseph Health System
Saint Joseph Health System (SJHS) is a not-for-profit healthcare system located in North Central Indiana that offers acute-based hospital care and post-acute services including: community wellness, physical rehabilitation, home care, physician clinics, outpatient services, independent and assisted senior living, memory care and affordable senior apartments. SJHS includes: Mishawaka Medical Center; Plymouth Medical Center; Rehabilitation Institute; Outpatient services of the Elm Road Medical Campus; Health Insurance Services; Physician Network; VNA Home Care; the Senior Living Communities at St. Paul's, Holy Cross and Trinity Tower; and Saint Joseph PACE. SJHS serves more than 200,000 members of the Michiana community annually. SJHS is a Regional Health Ministry of Trinity Health in Livonia, Michigan.

About GEARS
Granger Exploration and Robotics Studio is a not-for-profit organization designed to encourage and challenge kids in the world of science, math and technologies. It hosts competitive robotics leagues for students in grades 1-12. It also uses real-world problems and challenges students to critically think about a solution. GEARS is an ETHOS Science Center program.

### Reported by PRWeb 16 hours ago.

DIGITAL HEALTH BRIEFING: Health insurer startup fills gaps left by incumbents — Helix expands clinical genomic tests — Australia launches $200M digital health research center

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DIGITAL HEALTH BRIEFING: Health insurer startup fills gaps left by incumbents — Helix expands clinical genomic tests — Australia launches $200M digital health research center Welcome to Digital Health Briefing, the newsletter providing the latest news, data, and insight on how digital technology is disrupting the healthcare ecosystem, produced by Business Insider Intelligence.

*Sign up and receive Digital Health Briefing free to your inbox.*

Have feedback? We'd like to hear from you. Write me at: lbeaver@businessinsider.com

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*FRENCH STARTUP INSURER TARGETS GAPS LEFT BY LARGER INSURERS:* Alan, a French health insurance startup, raised $28 million in its most recent funding round, according to TechCrunch. The company offers software-as-a-service insurance with a one-size-fits-all approach to pricing. Alan plans to use the funding to grow its staff from 22 to 80 by December 2018. Alan has aims to reach €100 million ($124 million) in recurring as soon as possible.

*For the moment, Alan is targeting smaller companies in France.* This is partly because smaller companies are underserved by big insurance companies, and partly because it’s easier to convince smaller companies to switch insurers. The service covers 850 companies in France, amounting to around 7,000 employees. Alan plans to expand beyond France to take advantage of additional opportunities in Europe.

*A key to the insurer’s growth is its simple, transparent interface and one-size fits all pricing model:*

· The cost of covering an employee and their family with Alan is the same no matter what type of company. However, it does rise for older employees.
· The online dashboard — available on the web and mobile app — allows users to control and view all their health expenses.
· Moreover, Alan allows its customers to integrate life insurance coverage from CNP Assurances into the same interface — CNP Assurances is one of Alan’s investors.

*Rising healthcare coverage costs is making service-based insurers, such as Alan, or Oscar Health and Clover Health in the US, very attractive to employers.* Globally, medical benefit costs are accelerating, estimated to have grown almost 8% in 2017, up from 7.3% in 2016, according to Willis Towers Watson. And while growth is slower in Europe compared to the US, it’s still higher than overall inflation growth. Services that provide employers transparency in costs and offer an easy-to-use interface will continue to see growth at the expense of larger legacy insurers.

*Enjoy reading this briefing?  Sign up and receive Digital Health Briefing to your inbox.** *

*GENOMICS PLATFORM WADES INTO CLINICAL TESTING:* Helix, a personal genomics company, announced two partnerships last week that further expand the company’s offerings to include clinical services on top of its direct-to-consumer products, according to Genomeweb.

· PerkinElmer, a medtech company, offers a product that analyses 59 genes that deal with a range of issues, such as allergies to common anesthetics and the BRCA gene, which is associated with high risks for certain types of cancer.
· Northshore University Health System’s test looks for prostate cancer risks. The offering is already used within the health system for its patients.

Helix differentiates itself from most consumer genetic firms because it doesn't develop actual tests. Rather, the firm developed a marketplace for other genomics companies to sell their services. After Helix collects and sequences a user's DNA sample, it then stores that data so a user can share their data with genetic test companies. Users can pick different products, such as National Geographic's genetic test, straight from the marketplace without the hassle of having to provide a whole new saliva sample.

*For PerkinElmer and Northshore, Helix expands the reach of their respective tests.* The marketplace, which currently includes 35 products, is expected to more than double its offerings by the end of 2018. Helix is likely hoping to capitalize on a significant opportunity — the global direct-to-consumer genetic testing market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 20%, from $117 million in 2017 $611 million by 2026, according to Credence Research.

*AUSTRALIA LAUNCHES DIGITAL HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER: *Eighty organizations and 16 universities formed the Digital Health Cooperative Research Center (CRC) last week, with the aim of applying research and technology to improve healthcare, according to OpenGov. The CRC will investigate four primary areas: enabling information discovery and application, identifying and managing health risk, promoting better value, quality, access, and safety in health, and empowering consumers and incentivizing positive health behavior. The Australian government has committed AUD$55 million ($43 million) over seven years for the Digital Health CRC. The group represents a growing interest in digital health within Australia, in part driven by concern for the rising cost of healthcare. Health expenditures already account for 10% of the country’s GDP, with some concerned that this number will balloon along with the aging population. The Digital Health CRC believes it can save the Australian healthcare system around AUD$1.8 billion ($1.4 billion) per year.

*IN OTHER NEWS:*

· Surgeons from the *Royal Marsden Hospital* in London have performed a double surgery on a cancer patient using the da Vinci Xi robotic console, according to Digital Health. The technology provides a much more precise surgery, resulting in less trauma to the patient. This can help improve patient recovery time.
· *Banner Health* will pay the US government $18 million to settle false claims allegations, according to The Department of Justice. Twelve of the health system’s hospitals based in either Arizona or Colorado knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare by admitting patients who could have been treated on a less costly outpatient basis.

Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 13 hours ago.

Maryland health exchange board votes for reinsurance program

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BALTIMORE (AP) — The board of trustees for the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange has voted to move forward with a federal application for a reinsurance program. The board voted Monday to proceed with the program that Gov. Larry Hogan and state lawmakers approved to hold down consumer costs to Maryland’s individual market for health insurance […] Reported by Seattle Times 11 hours ago.

State wants input on effort to lower premiums for Mainers

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AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The state wants public input on an effort to lower individual health insurance premiums for Mainers. The Legislature last year passed a law to reduce premiums for individuals who don’t qualify for subsidies under former President Obama’s signature health law. The program would reimburse insurers for some costs associated with high […] Reported by Seattle Times 5 hours ago.

Ensure 100% Uptime for Emergency Medical Systems with Deep Freeze

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Deep Freeze is a system restore software that leverages the patented reboot to restore technology. By reverting a system to its desired baseline configuration on each reboot, it guarantees optimal functionality and uninterrupted availability of emergency medical systems.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (PRWEB) April 17, 2018

Deep Freeze, a system restoration software by Faronics Corporation, ensures uninterrupted system uptime for emergency medical systems. It’s patented reboot to restore technology protects and maintains medical computers, preventing the occurrence of major issues due to unwanted changes made on systems. It enables a system to revert to an admin-defined, pristine baseline configuration with a single reboot. Deep Freeze thus eliminates possibilities of extended downtime, protecting systems from malicious or accidental threats.

Importance of 24/7 availability in Emergency Healthcare Systems

The healthcare system has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of advancements in IT. Technology now lives at the heart of the functioning of hospitals, clinics, and care-giving facilities. In fact, healthcare facilities need to incorporate relevant emerging technologies to keep up with the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliance.

Sophisticated diagnosis of diseases, surgeries, healthcare trackers, wearables, sensors, medical tricorders and a range of activities related to human health depend on the flawless functioning of computer systems. Even a hospital’s patient records, inventory of medicine and equipment, information on individuals injured in criminal activity (such as robbery, assault, etc) are digitally maintained. The introduction of cloud and similar disruptive technologies have improved responsiveness and effectiveness of medical services to astounding levels.

The flipside of this is that a slight hint of system malfunction in hospitals and medical facilities can lead to dire consequences. Any interruption in a hospital’s systems, due to altered system settings or disruptions in software activity, can put human lives at risk.

Managing the functionality and security of multiple computers can be difficult without employing a comprehensive solution. Manual IT intervention in the event of a malfunction to any computer only furthers the length of system downtime. Healthcare systems cannot afford extended downtime as lives are at stake. Unless the IT department hires a greater number of employees, a major facility cannot keep up all its systems at optimum functionality.

The solution - Deep Freeze

Faronics’ Deep Freeze is ideal for the protection and maintenance of multi-user computer environments. Deep freeze allows IT admins to set up the desired configuration across all workstations as per the requirement. In the event of any system malfunctioning, its reboot to restore capabilities swiftly restores systems to their pristine configuration. With a reboot, the system is cleansed of all unwanted changes and is returned to peak functionality.

Deep Freeze discards all system changes to maintain the pristine admin-configured state. This ensures that each user has access to a fully functioning system. Since any changes made by the user is removed on reboot, unrestricted access to the device can be offered without concern.

Deep Freeze is compatible with both Windows and MacOS. The enterprise and cloud versions provide a centralized console which allows IT administrators to configure and manage emergency medical systems remotely. It also integrates smoothly with Apple Remote Desktop, Microsoft SCCM, and Dell KACE, allowing for hassle-free management and customization of IT systems.

Deployment of Deep Freeze has resulted in more than 60% reduction in requests for IT support, maximizing the efficiency of IT personnel and minimizing maintenance costs.

Download Deep Freeze - Reboot Restore Software http://www.faronics.com/reboot-restore-software

Proven application for Healthcare

The robust and instant system restoration ability of Deep Freeze has benefited healthcare organizations across the world, providing numerous success stories testifying to its effectiveness.

A renowned multi-specialty healthcare group was running approximately 250 workstations, 19 servers, 60 physicians and has nearly 350 employees. The workstations were spread out over six physical locations and were used for scheduling, billing, and recording patient demographics.

The hospital faced the issue of its mission-critical systems getting compromised repeatedly by spyware and malicious software. Any of these instances could have impacted the institute’s HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliance. The hospital's IT staff had to spend up to 10 hours every week to keep the servers clean.

The deployment of Deep Freeze on the four terminal servers of the hospital has eliminated all the problems as the software has been configured to reboot the servers every midnight and restores the clean configuration. It also improved the efficiency of the IT staff, which has to spend only around 3 hours every 3-4 weeks on server maintenance. This Reboot Restore Software not only ensured 100% availability of the hospital’s mission-critical systems but also optimized the maintenance cost.

To know more about Deep Freeze- Reboot To Restore Technology, kindly visit http://www.faronics.com/technology/reboot-to-restore

About Faronics
Faronics was founded in 1996 with the intention of helping customers maximize returns from their existing technological infrastructure. It helps companies manage and secure their IT environments. Headquartered in Vancouver, Faronics has offices in the USA and the UK in addition to a global channel of network partners. Their solutions have been deployed in over 150 countries in more than 30,000 organizations with more than 10 million licenses sold worldwide. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.

Wyden report details $100B 'bonanza' to health care industry from tax law

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Pharmaceutical, health insurance and other health care corporations will receive $100 billion in tax cuts over the next 10 years under the new tax law, according to a report released today by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat. The report details a "bonanza" the health care industry will receive from corporate tax cuts, stock buybacks and offshore accounts. “Millions of working Americans lie awake at night wondering how to make ends meet. Do they pay for their electric bill or their child’s… Reported by bizjournals 7 hours ago.

Introducing InsureOnline.com, A Virtual Insurance Agency That Can Quote and Bind Auto and Health Insurance 24/7/365

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InsureOnline.com offers the flexibility for consumers to shop online, instantly bind their auto or health insurance and receive customer service from a licensed insurance agent.

BEDFORD PARK, Ill. (PRWEB) April 17, 2018

Headquartered in Bedford Park, Illinois, InsureOnline.com is a new virtual insurance agency that is being developed for the consumer that prefers online shopping. Jason Heidkamp Director of Sales and Digital Marketing, InsureOnline.com explained, “The goal of InsureOnline.com is to make securing auto and health insurance effortless. It offers consumers the freedom to purchase insurance and completely manage their account anywhere and anytime. They also have the security in knowing that a licensed experienced insurance agent is just a phone call or click away.”

At InsureOnline.com consumers can explore coverage, find discounts and compare quotes for auto and health insurance all in less than five minutes. What makes InsureOnline.com unique is that consumers can now complete the insurance process and bind their auto and health insurance policy without talking to an agent. Heidkamp added, “For years, consumers have been able to shop the insurance marketplace in order to explore and compare insure products. InsureOnline.com now makes it possible for consumers to complete that last step and bind that insurance policy without having to talk to an agent.”

InsureOnline.com has the capabilities of being able to complete multiple quotes at various coverage levels to meet the needs of almost all consumers. Whether a consumer needs basic liability only coverage to keep them legal or want higher limits with full coverage, InsureOnline.com can offer multiple quotes at multiple coverage levels.

Heidkamp added, “One of the great features about InsureOnline.com is that at anytime, the consumer can chat live with a licensed multilingual insurance agent. They can also contact the InsureOnline.com call center for additional support. Filing a claim is a convenient process. InsureOnline.com was built around providing the consumer with the most streamlined and efficient service. Our claims service is no exception.”

Heidkamp concluded by suggesting consumers visit InsureOnline.com to see first-hand how the site works. Bookmark the page so when their current policy is up for renewal, they can conveniently run a couple of quotes to compare price and coverage. “New products and enhancements to the site are being added monthly. InsureOnline.com is a valuable insurance resource that allows consumer to quote and bind coverage all with a single transaction from the convenience of home or any mobile device. It is a forward-thinking company for the 21st century consumer,” stated Heidkamp.

About InsureOnline.com
InsureOnline.com is a virtual insurance agency that specializes in providing quality insurance products and services to those consumers wanting to shop and purchase products online but still provide the individual the ability to work with a licensed insurance agent if they wish. Currently InsureOnline.com offers auto and health insurance products. InsureOnlinc.com is licensed to write business in 48 states and has a multilingual staff licensed and certified in a variety of insurance lines. InsureOnline.com is an entity of Warrior Invictus Holding Company, Inc. InsureOnline.com is headquartered in Bedford Park, at 6640 S. Cicero Ave, Bedford Park, IL 60638. 1-844-358-5605 Reported by PRWeb 7 hours ago.

Aetna to hire 250 as part of 'innovation hub' expansion in Wellesley

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Health insurance giant Aetna is expanding its presence in the Bay State, months after choosing New York over Boston to relocate its headquarters. Aetna announced Tuesday that it would expand its Consumer Health and Services Organization — or "innovation hub"— in Wellesley, adding 250 jobs by 2020 to the area of the company that develops new products, services, and technologies. In total, Aetna will build out an additional 80,000-square-feet of space at its existing location on Worcester Street,… Reported by bizjournals 4 hours ago.

StuLo Selected as Student Loan Debt Relief Partner by FinFit

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Partnership with Student Markets Group, Inc. d/b/a StuLo is set to expand access to student loan debt relief and financial wellness benefits for employers.

PHOENIX (PRWEB) April 18, 2018

Student Markets Group, Inc. d/b/a StuLo, an employee benefits company focused on financial wellness, student loan debt relief, and credit repair services, announced today that it has entered into a marketing partnership with FinFit Ops, LLC d/b/a FinFit, a leader in providing voluntary financial fitness benefits delivered through their online platform.

"We are excited that StuLo will be an integrated resource on FinFit’s financial wellness platform," said Ben Rozum, President of StuLo. Rozum added, "Unlike education-only methods, FinFit provides a short-term loan solution that provides a responsible solution for employees, so they can worry less about finances and focus more on their job. In partnering with StuLo, FinFit’s brokers and clients will have a hassle-free way to expand actionable, financial-related benefits to their employees."

Student loan debt relief is considered one of the fastest growing employee benefits due to 44 million Americans being saddled with over $1.4 Trillion in debt. While only 4% of employers offer a student loan related benefit today, studies indicate that adoption could increase to nearly 30% through 2019.

According to Pete Ostberg, Vice President of Product Management at FinFit, "Our investment in technology and innovative financial wellness benefits has allowed FinFit to be recognized as a leading solution for brokers and clients." Ostberg added, "By partnering with an innovative benefit provider like StuLo, we can also give our clients single-source access to a relevant and meaningful benefit solution for student loan debt relief, which we know a lot of employers are looking for. We are excited about this new relationship and the unique value it will bring to our clients and the financial well-being of their employees."

StuLo will be available to FinFit’s clients and their employees starting in April of 2018.

For more information on how to offer StuLo to employees or association members, contact your employee benefits broker or call StuLo at 602-888-8144 or visit https://StuLoWellness.com.

About StuLo
StuLo is an employee benefit and association-member benefit program that is focused on: financial wellness, student loan debt relief, and credit repair services. The benefit program takes a wholistic approach to providing a financial wellness benefit for all employees and members—not just a benefit to help student loan holders only. The aggregation of financial-related benefits includes: general financial coaching and online tools, concierge services to help with federal student loan consolidation enrollment, private student loan refinancing marketplace, concierge services to help with credit repair, accident disability insurance, and identity theft protection. As an alternative to an expensive, employer-funded student loan repayment assistance benefit, StuLo provides significant benefit value at little to no cost to the employer.

About Student Markets Group Inc. and Coterie Advisory Group Inc.
Student Markets Group, which is owned by Coterie Advisory Group, is the national program manager for the StuLo benefit program. The companies provide consultative services and product solutions that are dedicated to helping consumers in the insurance and benefits industry—including the rising concerns of affordable health insurance and student loan debt relief. Their packages of consumer-centric insurance and non-insurance programs solve real-world problems, make a meaningful difference in consumers' lives, and have a track-record of being market-leading and market-changing. https://StuLoWellness.com | https://coterieadvisors.com

About FinFit
FinFit has grown to be one of the Nation’s largest financial wellness benefit platforms with over 80,000 companies having access, providing a self-directed online experience that lets employees measure their financial fitness and provides fun, directed education and tools that drive real results. FinFit also provides affordable short-term loans that provide real-world help when it is needed most. FinFit has become a powerful way for employers to attract and retain talent by helping employees get their mind off their financial problems and stay focused on work.

FinFit Loans are issued by Celtic Bank, a Utah-Chartered Industrial Bank, Member FDIC. Reported by PRWeb 20 hours ago.

Health insurance reform heads back to governor

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State Senate votes on health insurance reform left Gov. Ralph Northam with a big stick to end Virginia’s budget impasse, but it is unclear if he will wield it.

In mainly party-line votes Wednesday, senators rejected Northam’s requests for delay in enacting four measures that Senate Republicans... Reported by dailypress.com 2 hours ago.

Pioneer Institute Study: MA Health Insurers Have Made Good Progress in Price Transparency, But Significant Work Remains

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Tools are more user friendly and cover growing number of procedures, but still used by just a small fraction of potential market

BOSTON (PRWEB) April 18, 2018

A Pioneer Institute study finds some significant improvements in the online cost estimator tools created by Massachusetts’ three largest health insurers, but there is much still to be done for the carriers to maximize the opportunity price transparency represents.

Online cost estimator tools give consumers/plan members online information about a range of information for outpatient and many inpatient procedures. These tools display the amount that has to be paid by consumers to any particular provider, how much the plan pays the provider, and information about provider quality. Consumers can compare several providers at the same time.

“Price transparency can help initiate reforms that reduce healthcare costs and allow market forces to drive patients to lower-cost, higher-value providers,” said Barbara Anthony, primary author of MA Health Insurers Have Improved Their Consumer Price Transparency Efforts, But Significant Work Remains.

A 2012 state law required health insurers to develop online cost estimator tools by October 2014. In 2015, the advocacy group Health Care for All (HCFA) assessed the tools developed by Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (HPHC), and Tufts Health Plan, which together controlled nearly four-fifths of the state health insurance market. HCFA gave each a grade of “C.”

The same law also requires hospitals and doctors to provide consumers with prices of services upon request. Previous Pioneer studies showed very poor compliance by Massachusetts providers with the Commonwealth’s transparency law.

As a follow up to the HCFA study, in late 2017, Pioneer assessed the same carriers’ performance and found their tools more user friendly. They cover between 700 and 1600 procedures, a vast improvement over the initial numbers of procedures available in 2015. Importantly, Pioneer found that all three carriers are embracing incentive/reward programs to attract workers at entities with 250 or more employees to lower-cost, high-value providers. Pioneer’s study was done with the full cooperation of the carriers.

Under incentive/rewards programs, employees are rewarded by either small or no co-payments or cash rewards from $25 to several hundreds of dollars for choosing lower-cost, high-value providers such as outpatient surgical centers rather than a hospital outpatient clinic. HPHC has developed a program called SaveOn that makes it easier for members to switch providers to avoid co-pays or earn cash rewards. BCBS has aggressively embraced and marketed cash incentive programs to both businesses and municipalities. In all cases, the plans say they are embracing incentive programs and transparency to compete with large national carriers here and regionally.

Both the HPHC’s and THP’s tools are a significant improvement over their initial cost estimator tools. After their common vendor pulled out of the market, the carriers had to entirely revamp their tools. The results are new, easy-to-navigate online tools which display out-of-pocket consumer costs, the remaining deductible, and quality metrics.

Since 2015, BCBS has made several improvements that make its product more consumer friendly: by simply changing the name of its tool from “Find a Doc” to “Find a Doc and Estimate Costs,” by making the tool much more prominent on its website, and clearly showing both out-of-pocket costs and remaining deductibles. BCBS also has an improved website for consumers.

Despite significant progress, however, deficiencies remain. The carriers had about 297,000 aggregate inquiries on their cost estimator tools from early 2014 through 2017, compared to a potential market of at least three million people that the three carriers cover.

“The number of aggregate inquiries shows that carriers still have a lot of work ahead to achieve price transparency’s potential to rein in healthcare costs,” said Pioneer Institute Executive Director Jim Stergios.

In 2015, Massachusetts’ median annual household income was around $70,000 and the average family in the Commonwealth spent about $20,000 on premiums and cost sharing. “These figures show that transparency in healthcare is important to the budgets of Massachusetts families,” added Stergios.

HPHC’s and Tufts’ estimator tools still don’t provide cost data on many behavioral health procedures.

The BCBS site is compatible with online translation tools, but none of the carriers’ cost estimator tools are readily available in a language other than English.

Anthony noted that “While state government has not provided any compliance leadership for consumer price transparency, now, after overcoming resistance and a lack of support, the market is waking up to the potential benefits of price transparency and incentive programs.”

Comments from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Tufts Health Plan:

“In a rapidly changing healthcare environment, providing consumers with transparency around cost and quality information is important and will help them make informed healthcare choices,” said Harvard Pilgrim President and CEO Eric Schultz. “We at Harvard Pilgrim have long been committed to promoting the value of transparency, and we are pleased to see that Pioneer Institute continues to keep a public focus on the issue. We were happy to work with them on this report.”

“Blue Cross is pleased that the Pioneer report acknowledges our ongoing commitment to providing our members with state-of-the-art tools to make informed decisions about the cost and quality of their healthcare. Members who understand their benefits – those who aren’t surprised by bills and feel empowered – are much more likely to be satisfied members and engaged patients. I thank Pioneer Institute for their continued focus on this issue,” said Andrew Dreyfus, BCBS President and CEO.

“Transparency is essential among all stakeholders in healthcare to ensure that customers and employer groups can make informed healthcare decisions,” said Tom Croswell, President and CEO at Tufts Health Plan. “[O]ur new, easy-to-use tool enables members to not only find high-quality, high-value providers in their area, but also see their potential costs from the beginning to the end of a procedure. The new tool is simpler and far surpasses the capabilities of the first generation of transparency tools. We applaud Pioneer Institute’s work on keeping this important issue at the forefront.”

About the Authors

Barbara Anthony, a lawyer, is a senior fellow in healthcare at Pioneer Institute focusing on healthcare price and quality transparency. She is also an associate at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Business and Government. She served as Massachusetts Undersecretary for Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation from 2009 to 2015.

Scott Haller graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. He started working at Pioneer Institute through the Northeastern’s Co-op Program and continues now as the Lovett C. Peters Fellow in Healthcare. He previously worked at the Office of the Inspector General.

About Pioneer

Pioneer Institute is an independent, non-partisan, privately funded research organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts through civic discourse and intellectually rigorous, data-driven public policy solutions based on free market principles, individual liberty and responsibility, and the ideal of effective, limited and accountable government. Reported by PRWeb 9 hours ago.

The Method To The NBA's Uniform Madness

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The Method To The NBA's Uniform Madness Watch VideoIf you've been watching the NBA this season, chances are you've seen some ... unusual uniforms. Like racing stripes. Or a "Miami Vice" tribute. Or just a giant deer head.

Whatever you think of all these jerseys, there's little doubt the NBA has the weirdest uniforms of any major American sports league. 

But there's a method to the NBA's jersey madness. The jerseys show the league's new-school approach to putting itself out there. It goes way beyond how the players look, and most importantly, it's working.

First, about those jerseys. They can seem pretty random, but the NBA and Nike, which makes the jerseys, know exactly what they're doing.

*SEE MORE: WNBA Finally Gets Its Due In A New Video Game*

Like just this year, when the NBA threw out the idea of designated home and away uniforms. Now the home team just wears what it feels like and the road team has to wear a different color.

The NBA and league Commissioner Adam Silver are showing they don't care if they have to break tradition to get something fans may enjoy on the floor. This is also how the league approaches pretty much everything.

Take social media, for instance. Lots of big-time sports leagues are fiercely protective of their game highlights and are often quick to crack down on people who post them online without permission.

Not in the NBA, though. They're happy more people are watching basketball, and highlights are a big part of what makes #NBATwitter so compelling.

The league is embracing some other new technologies, too. 

"With the first pick of the 2018 NBA 2K League Draft, Mavs Gaming selects Artreyo Boyd, aka Dimez, from Cleveland, Ohio," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.

You read that right. That's a draft for people who play "NBA 2K," the most popular NBA video game. The league and the game's developer are paying gamers in the NBA 2K League more than $30,000 for a six-month contract, plus free housing, health insurance and a retirement plan. It's legit!

All this legwork is paying off. TV ratings, priority No. 1 for any big-time sports league, are up significantly for the NBA this year, especially among young people. Not a lot of other leagues can say that.

So if you're a little startled by the fashion statements you see on NBA broadcasts, just know it's all part of the plan. Reported by Newsy 1 hour ago.
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