News Briefs: Week of Aug. 30-Sept. 3

This roundup includes the following news briefs:

CMS has created a dedicated area of its website to provide information to physicians about its Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record, or EHR, incentive programs.

The section offers physicians a reliable source for answers to questions about program timelines, incentive amounts and participation details.

The new Web area also offers downloadable information, as well as related Internet links both inside and outside of CMS. The agency will update the section as necessary to keep the information up-to-date.

Illinois has enacted a law that creates a state-run electronic health information exchange to promote the adoption and use of electronic health records among physicians and other health care professionals.

The new law, H.B. 6441, creates the Illinois Health Information Exchange to provide physicians and other health care professionals with a secure system of accessing the medical histories of patients. According to a press release from Gov. Pat Quinn's office, the electronic health information exchange should reduce duplicate tests and procedures. The law also is designed to ensure prescription medication accuracy, Quinn said.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or AHRQ, has released a final report on the status of quality measures in the Medicaid program for home and community-based services.

The report, Environmental Scan of Measures for Medicaid Title XIX Home and Community-Based Services, represents the agency's first step toward developing permanent quality measures for the Medicaid program in the areas of client functioning, client satisfaction and program performance. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 requires AHRQ to assess the quality of home and community-based Medicaid programs nationwide.

HHS has released a new HealthCare.gov web tool designed to make it easier for individuals to search for health insurance coverage options.

The Insurance Finder "widget" enables anyone with a website or blog to embed a tool that allows users to begin the process of searching for coverage options, according to an HHS press release. The tool asks users to select a state and to answer the question "Which best describes you?" Users then can click on next steps and are redirected to a page on HealthCare.gov that continues the insurance finder process based on answers to specific questions.