RAC Recoveries Increase, as Problems Persist
Oct. 12—An update of Medicare’s overpayments recoupment program isn’t giving providers much hope for change in a system they say unfairly takes and holds their money for long periods, if not for good.
Bundled Payment Deals Prompt Hospitals to Rethink Relationships with SNFs
Aug. 14—Hospital and health system CFOs who are trying to make bundled payments work may find an answer in closer clinical alignment with skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), according to a new study.
Rewarding Investment in Social Determinants of Health
Aug. 10—Healthcare providers and health insurers would be far more likely to spend money on health-improving social programs if they could count on a monetary return on their investment.
March Toward Value-Based Care Slipping: Survey
July 18—A new survey of physicians and health plan execs says the march toward value-based care is slipping, throwing shade on other surveys that say the transition to outcomes-based payment is on track.
Hospital Concerns Push CMS Time Out on Star Ratings
June 15—The stars and the data didn’t align for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which said this week that it was postponing its scheduled July update to the agency’s star ratings for some 4,000 hospitals nationwide.
Health Plan-Provider Insurance Partnerships Pick Up Speed
June 11—The year of the crossover healthcare deal shows no signs of slowing down with the release of new figures that point to a record number of new health insurer-provider sponsored insurance products in 2018.
Teaching Hospitals Boost Community Spending: Study
June 4—Teaching hospitals are seeing a decrease in charity spending decrease while increasing their spending in community health promotion, according to new research.
Will CPC Model’s Failings Follow into CPC+?
June 1—Improving the practice of medicine at the primary care level by deploying massive, publicly-funded incentives is complicated, but doable on the margins.
Not-for-Profit Hospital Downgrades Increased in 2017: Report
March 27—Credit pressures drove more downgrades of not-for-profit (NFP) hospitals in 2017 than in 2016, with the NFP sector exceeding the downgrade-to-upgrade ratio of the recession years of 2008 and 2009, according to a report this month by Moody's Investors Service.
Proposal to Eliminate MIPS Appears to Lack Provider Buy-in
March 26—The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) earlier this month announced a proposal to drop the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) program as part of its annual report to Congress on needed changes to Medicare payment policies.