Nebraska health insurance plan debate begins

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The road to Nebraska creating its own health insurance exchange could be a long one, as indicated Tuesday by nearly three hours of testimony before lawmakers.

Lawmakers began discussion on two bills that would form the Nebraska Health Benefit Exchange Act, a plan offered as an alternative to the federal health insurance plan now being scrutinized by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The bills up for debate in the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee were introduced to meet the requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act, which calls for states to have an operating exchange by 2014.

If a state doesn't have a plan in place, the federal Health and Human Services Department has the authority to create and operate a health benefit exchange.

Whether Nebraska needs to act now depended Tuesday on whom was being asked.

Supporters said Nebraska needs to act immediately to avoid federal control. Opponents said the state should wait for the Supreme Court decision this summer.

"Nebraska will have substantial flexibility if we decide to enact our own exchange," said Mary Ann Borgeson, vice chairwoman of the Douglas County Commission and a representative of the Nebraska Health Care Alliance. "We have the opportunity in Nebraska to keep the exchange simple and cost-effective."

Opponent John McCollister, executive director of the Platte Institute for Economic Research, said there is little threat of a federal "takeover" and the state does not have to act so quickly.

"While some proponents of these bills insist the exchanges must be set up immediately to retain local control, it is clear the federal Department of Health and Human Services is willing to push back deadlines to accommodate legal challenges and determine what federal regulations will be introduced."

Sens. Rich Pahls of Boys Town and Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha each have introduced a bill that would meet the requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act.

Some states have delayed action on the matter, hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will find the federal health care law unconstitutional, but Nebraska and many others have moved ahead to ensure they retain control over the health exchange should the federal law be upheld.

The exchanges are the system through which uninsured people would buy coverage from a choice of plans with federal tax credits.

Pahls and Nordquist have said their proposals are works in progress and will likely evolve over the next few weeks. They acknowledge their bills are similar.

The federal overhaul and the state exchanges are intended to increase access to quality and affordable health care coverage, reduce the number of people without insurance and offer more affordable options to businesses.

Tiffany Seibert, Sen. Nordquist's legislative aide, said if the Nebraska exchange is approved, as many as 120,000 Nebraskans would be able to buy quality health insurance.

"It is intended to make sure that Nebraskans can buy the insurance that they need," she said. "This is health insurance for Nebraskans, by Nebraskans."

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The Nebraska Medical Center Expands Use of Streamline Health Content Management Solutions

CINCINNATI, Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Streamline Health Solutions, Inc. (NasdaqCM: STRM - News), a leading provider of enterprise content management and business analytics solutions for healthcare organizations, today announced that The Nebraska Medical Center will expand its use of Streamline Health's content management solutions through a direct licensing agreement with the Company. The medical center is migrating to a direct license with the Company from a license through a Streamline Health strategic partner.

The Nebraska Medical Center is Nebraska's largest healthcare facility, employing more than 4,900 employees and with over 1,000 physicians in all major specialties and sub-specialties on staff. The medical center has successfully utilized Streamline Health's AccessAnyWare® and FolderAnyWare content management solutions and HIM workflows in its Health Information Management and Patient Financial Services departments since 2006. As part of the new agreement the medical center will continue to license these solutions and will also add Streamline Health's Integration Suite for Epic EMR. The Integration Suite will allow for seamless access to scanned patient information within the Epic electronic medical record system, providing physicians and staff in multiple departments with instant access to critical information.

"Our Company's growth and the ongoing development of our solutions are reflected in our clients' expanding use of our solutions," said Robert E. Watson, president and chief executive officer of Streamline Health. "The Nebraska Medical Center is a valued client and we are pleased that it has chosen a direct license with Streamline Health. By utilizing our Integration Suite with its EMR, the medical center will have an even more powerful system to help staff access information and continue to provide the level of care the medical center is known for."

About Streamline Health

Streamline Health provides solutions that help hospitals and physician groups improve efficiencies and business processes across the enterprise to enhance and protect revenues. Our enterprise content management solutions transform unstructured data into digital assets that seamlessly integrate with disparate clinical, administrative, and financial information systems. Our business analytics solutions provide real-time access to key performance metrics that enable healthcare organizations to identify and manage opportunities to maximize financial performance. Our integrated workflow systems automate and manage critical business activities to improve organizational accountability to drive both operational and financial performance. Across the revenue cycle, our solutions offer a flexible, customizable way to optimize the clinical and financial performance of any healthcare organization. For more information visit www.streamlinehealth.net.

About The Nebraska Medical Center

With a reputation for excellence, innovation and extraordinary patient care, The Nebraska Medical Center has earned J.D. Power and Associates' Hospital of Distinction award for inpatient services for six consecutive years. It also received the 2011 Consumer Choice Award, a mark of patient satisfaction as selected by healthcare consumers and has achieved Magnet recognition status for nursing excellence. As the teaching hospital for the University of Nebraska Medical Center, this 624 licensed bed academic medical center has an international reputation for providing solid organ and bone marrow transplantation and is well known nationally and regionally for its oncology, neurology and cardiology programs.  The Nebraska Medical Center can be found online at www.nebraskamed.com.

Epic is a registered trademark of Epic Systems Corporation.

Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Statements made by Streamline Health Solutions, Inc. that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties and are no guarantee of future performance. The forward looking statements contained herein are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, included herein. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the timing of contract negotiations and execution of contracts and the related timing of the revenue recognition related thereto, the potential cancellation of existing contracts or clients not completing projects included in the backlog, the impact of competitive products and pricing, product demand and market acceptance, new product development, key strategic alliances with vendors that resell the Company's products, the ability of the Company to control costs, availability of products obtained from third party vendors, the healthcare regulatory environment, potential changes in legislation, regulation and government funding affecting the healthcare industry, healthcare information systems budgets, availability of healthcare information systems trained personnel for implementation of new systems, as well as maintenance of legacy systems, fluctuations in operating results, effects of critical accounting policies and judgments, changes in accounting policies or procedures as may be required by the Financial Accountings Standards Board or other similar entities, changes in economic, business and market conditions impacting the healthcare industry, the markets in which the Company operates and nationally, and the Company's ability to maintain compliance with the terms of its credit facilities, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Streamline Health Solutions, Inc. filings with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward looking statements, which reflect management's analysis only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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