Nick Hut
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Nick Hut
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HHS sets new administrative fee to be paid by parties in No Surprises Act independent dispute resolution cases
Oct. 6 update: The lead section of this article was updated where noted with news about the arbitration portal. The administrative fee for taking out-of-network payment disputes to arbitration under the No Surprises Act in 2024 would be significantly lower than it was for much of 2023, but triple the current rate, according to proposed…
As clock ticks toward massive Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts, proposed bill would bring relief
A congressional bill that would impose additional transparency requirements on providers also would offer a respite from a sizable cut to a key supplemental payment. A $32 billion reduction to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments is scheduled to span four years, beginning when federal FY24 gets underway Oct. 1. The Lower Costs, More Transparency…
Legislation to enhance healthcare pricing and billing transparency takes a big step forward in the House
A slew of provisions on healthcare transparency took a step closer to becoming federal law as three House committees last week merged separate bills into a single draft. The resulting bill is just about set for consideration by the full House, where bipartisan support for the major provisions was apparent in the committee phase. The…
Published data quantify how cost increases will continue to affect the healthcare industry next year
The cost to treat patients will accelerate next year, with ramifications across the healthcare industry, according to newly published projections. PwC’s Health Research Institute reported that the cost of providing care will increase by 7% in 2024, up from a 6% increase this year and 5.5% in 2022. A 7% increase would tie 2021 for…
Money received through the Provider Relief Fund could be at risk as audits ramp up
Recipients of Provider Relief Fund (PRF) distributions and COVID-19 Uninsured Program payments should be girding themselves for audits, legal experts say. The programs represent “a two-front audit fight that providers are facing and will face in the coming years,” Brian Lee, partner with Alston & Bird, said during an Aug. 24 webinar hosted by the…
Summary: 10 vital responses to healthcare disruption
Note: This article is a summary of a report on HFMA’s Spring Thought Leadership Retreat. The full report is available to download. Disruption is reverberating throughout the healthcare industry, and it’s incumbent on legacy organizations to develop strategic responses for the benefit of their consumers, their communities and themselves. With that overarching challenge becoming ever…
News Briefs: Hospitals foresee adverse impacts from the FY24 inpatient payment rule
The FY24 final rule for Medicare inpatient payments didn’t bring hospitals the type of rate update they had sought, and for some organizations, a bigger concern is changes to uncompensated care (UC) payments. The regulations, which take effect Oct. 1, establish a 3.1% increase in operating payment rates, on average, for hospitals that meet quality-reporting…
Prices of drugs for diabetes, heart failure and more will be up for negotiation in Medicare next year
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday announced the first 10 Medicare Part D drugs that will be subject to price negotiations, the headlining healthcare-related provision of the Inflation Reduction Act. Signed in August 2022, the law gave Medicare authority to negotiate with drug manufacturers over the prices of selected drugs.…
No Surprises Act litigation update: QPA methodology deemed illegal as Texas Medical Association wins in court again (updated)
Note: The first section of this article has been updated with the latest news on the status of the arbitration portal. The fourth victory in four cases brought by the Texas Medical Association (TMA) has implications for how insurers calculate the qualifying payment amount (QPA) used to arbitrate out-of-network payment sums under the No Surprises…
Data indicate hospital operational logjams haven’t ceased after the public health emergency (updated)
Note: The fourth section of this article has been updated with news of proposed mandatory staffing ratios for long-term care facilities. Some of the problems that strained hospital operations during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic have eased, but not enough to mark a true industrywide recovery, a recently released report suggests. Notably, the process…