Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. That’s the predicament many providers find themselves in with the two current CMS e-prescription initiatives.
Medicare legislation passed in the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 authorized the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to offer incentives for meeting e-prescribing requirements, but providers who meet the standards for those rewards may still be penalized if they do not meet the threshold of sending at least 10 ePrescriptions between January 1 and June 30 of 2011.
With the deadline fast approaching, there are aggressive efforts to harmonize the two programs so that providers aren’t caught in a financial Catch-22.
Early this month CMS issued a proposal to waive the penalty for providers who meet the MIPPA reward standards.
Here’s a roundup of other dealflow and investment news:
- HTG raises $16.2 million
HTG Inc. announced that it raised $16.2 million in the second tranche of its Series D financing round, which was joined by SR One, the corporate venture capital arm of GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK).HTG develops gene expression platforms for clinical applications across different therapeutic areas. The new funds will go into three key business areas: molecular testing for translational medicine, pharmaceutical clinical development and pathology lab diagnostics, according to the release.
The company, which officially changed its name from High Throughput Genomics to HTG in March, raised $16.7 million in its first Series D round.
Read more - Spectra chases $3 million round
Spectra Analysis Instruments Inc. raised nearly $1 million in a $3 million debt and security round, according to SEC filings. The Marlborough, Mass.-based molecular analysis instrument maker did not disclose the names of the three funders.
Read more - Gelesis lands $2.6 million equity round
Boston-based Gelesis Inc. closed a $2.6 million equity funding round, raised through 11 undisclosed payers. Gelesis makes the Attiva capsule, an anti-obesity pill classified as a medical device because it expands in the stomach to create a sense of fullness, and is then passed through the digestive system rather than absorbed into the bloodstream.
Read more - PureTech launches Tal Medical with $700,000 for magnetic-field depression treatments
Tal Medical Inc. reported $700,000 in initial funding from PureTech Ventures and a few individual investors, according to SEC filings and Xconomy reports. The company develops magnetic-field treatments for depression, an endeavor inspired by the an accidental finding that MRI scanning created reactions in depressed patients’ brains that were similar to the effects of Prozac, Tal CEO Nessan Bermingham told Xconomy.
Read more - Stemgent bumps Series B offer from $10 million to $14.1 million
Stem cell tech company Stemgent Inc. raised its Series B equity offering from $10 million to $14.1 million, and filings show that the company has raised $10.6 million so far.
Read more - Universal Hospital Services announces $175 million offering
Universal Hospital Services Inc. announced that it intends to offer $175 million in second lien PIK notes due 2015. The $175 is offered in addition to an original $230 million offering. The medical equipment management solutions provider plans to use the funds to repay revolving borrowings under its credit facility, pay fees and expenses related to the offering, pay a cash distribution to equity holders and for general corporate purposes, according to the release.
Read more - Dental tech company gets $1 million loan from Asia Best
Remedent Inc. (OTC:REMI) filed a $1 million loan from Asia Best Healthcare Co. LTD. The Belgian company develops dental technologies, including veneers, whitening products and systems for fitting crowns and arches, which it sells to business as well as direct to consumers. The loan matures in June 2014.
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