Modern Healthcare reports that the President will announce the path forward on health care reform later this week.

The Senate, to my surprise, failed last week to pass a bill already approved by the House that temporarily would extend the COBRA/TCC subsidy and avoid a 21% cut in Medicare Part B payments to doctors. The AMA News reports that the Senate will takes up these “extender” issues this coming week. According to the article,

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services started informing physicians on Feb. 26 that contractors will hold Medicare physician claims for 10 business days, starting March 1, to give lawmakers more time to act. That means if Congress and the White House enact a delay before the end of the two weeks and make it retroactive to March 1, then doctors shouldn’t expect to see any Medicare checks come back with a 21% cut applied.

Last week, Health Grades “[f]or the fourth consecutive year, identified 50 hospitals that have provided outstanding clinical quality year after year and recognizes these hospitals as America’s 50 Best Hospitals.” Inova Fairfax Hospital is the only facility in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area to receive this accolade.

The AHIP News Wire reports that “An insurer is upping the ante for doctors to meet quality standards. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) has invited 4,000 primary care physicians to apply for the “substantially higher payments” of a reimbursement structure intended to improve the quality of patient care.” Good luck to them.