The FY24 HHS budget covers key programs for rural hospitals while tightening spending in some areas
The newly passed budget covering HHS during the remainder of FY24 contains notable provisions for healthcare providers. The roughly $117 billion departmental budget for the next six months was set in an appropriations bill that was passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden within hours of the March 22 expiration of funding for…
Budgeting for healthcare technology is not just a numbers game
In recent years, the healthcare industry has seen a rapid proliferation of new technologies with promising healthcare applications. This trend has created a challenge for most U.S. hospitals and health systems, given their severe budget constraints, in deciding which of these new technologies constitute the best investment options for their organizations. Add to their technology…
Payer trends health systems should watch closely in 2024
Health system leaders focused on the day-to-day needs of their organization can sometimes lose sight of key developments in other sectors of healthcare. But in an interconnected healthcare ecosystem, understanding the trendlines their payer counterparts are facing is essential. Threats to payers While some health system leaders might be under the impression that payers are…
Hospitals warrant an extra boost in their Medicare payment rate next year, MedPAC says
Hospitals will get a more favorable Medicare payment increase in FY25 if Congress follows the recommendations of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). In its semiannual report to Congress, MedPAC recommended a 1.5% bump on top of what otherwise would be provided according to statute. That would mean an estimated increase of about 4.5% for…
Cyberattack on Change Healthcare brings turmoil to healthcare operations nationwide
Highlights April 9: A possible second ransom demand March 28: Issues with transmitting files to and from payers March 26: A list of payer contacts for providers to inquire about advance payments March 22: An update on the restoration of claims submission March 14: An FAQ on Medicare accelerated and advance payments March 6: Recommendations…
The federal policy response to the Change Healthcare cyberattack
Note: This information is excerpted from HFMA’s running coverage of the cyberattack that disabled operations at Change Healthcare. On March 10, HHS and the Department of Labor sent a letter encouraging commercial payers to do their part to help financially strained providers nearly three weeks after the cyberattack on Change Healthcare. “Larger payers in particular…
Responses to a new RFI will help guide regulations addressing consolidation and private equity in healthcare
The Biden administration is ramping up its assessment of how to regulate consolidation and private equity (PE) acquisitions in healthcare, issuing a request for information (RFI) from stakeholders. There is a deadline of May 6 to submit comments on the RFI, which was distributed by HHS, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade…
Federal funding legislation would address Medicaid DSH cuts, physician payments and more
March 8 update The Senate passed the appropriations bill by a 75-22 vote, getting it to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign hours before funding for some federal departments would have expired and a big cut to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments would have begun. Attention now turns to HHS and other…
Continued 340B eligibility is at risk for hundreds of hospitals thanks to pandemic-related factors
Hospitals that rely on savings from the 340B Drug Pricing Program should examine the possibility that they will soon be rendered ineligible. Several factors are having an industrywide impact on the disproportionate share hospital adjustment percentage, and if that tally drops below a certain threshold on a hospital’s Medicare cost report, the hospital cannot receive…
PMMC provides organizations with the tools and the knowledge to maximize their net revenue
Learn how PMMC's revenue cycle software and services improves the financial performance of healthcare providers to have more resources devoted to patient care.