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Labor Cost Management
The hospital industry issued its latest plea for additional federal help to mitigate the financial and operational strain of COVID-19, including surging staffing costs.
By Nick Hut
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Strategic Partnerships Mergers and Acquisitions
The year 2021 was one of the least busy on record for healthcare mergers and acquisitions, but volume should pick up in 2022.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
The court lifted injunctions that had halted implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in half the country, leaving hospitals and other affected providers with likely only a few weeks to begin complying.
By Nick Hut
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Labor Cost Management
As highlighted in new employment data and new studies, the healthcare labor market continues to constrain hospitals.
By Nick Hut
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Billing and Collections
With new surprise billing regulations in place, providers should seek to implement efficient processes for gauging whether a patient is in-network.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
The status of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers took another twist, with CMS stating it will look to enforce the mandate within a month in 25 states and Washington, D.C.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
The Biden administration announced several provisions to bolster hospitals as efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic enter a third calendar year.
By Nick Hut
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Artificial Intelligence
HFMA’s most recent Outlook Survey of healthcare finance professionals highlights the potential of technology to usher in big changes in upcoming years.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
The nation’s highest court is being asked to clarify whether implementation of CMS’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate can proceed.
By Nick Hut
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Patient Financial Communications
Providers have had a mere three months to implement the processes needed to comply with a new requirement to provide uninsured patients with good-faith estimates in advance of services.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
The question of whether healthcare employees can be covered by vaccine mandates likely will be decided by the Supreme Court.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 payments will be made starting Dec. 16 to providers that applied and were deemed eligible.
By Nick Hut
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Health Plan Payment and Reimbursement
Leading provider associations have asked a federal court to halt the incorporation of criteria that appear to favor insurers over providers in an arbitration process to determine out-of-network payment amounts.
By Nick Hut
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Medicare Payment and Reimbursement
The House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill that would nullify a large share of 2022 Medicare payment cuts.
By Nick Hut
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Value-Based Payment
During a recent call with healthcare stakeholders, leaders with the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation heard various ideas for improving value-based payment models.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
A federal judge has halted implementation of a new rule that would require all on-site staff in hospitals and most other healthcare settings to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
If a hospital’s staff aren’t fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, the organization will be deemed noncompliant with Medicare and Medicaid regulations, according to a new federal rule.
By Nick Hut
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Leadership
HFMA’s new international Membership program reflects the Association’s mission to expand its support of healthcare finance professionals in the international community and to be a participant in the global agenda to improve health for all.
By Deborah Filipek
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Leadership
HFMA reached a significant milestone, surpassing 75,000 members in October, after 19 straight quarters of membership growth.
By Brad Dennison
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Cost Effectiveness of Health
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: America’s most cost-effective hospitals are identified, employers have boosted telemedicine and mental health benefits during the pandemic, a...
By Deborah Filipek
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Medicare Payment and Reimbursement
Citing patient safety concerns among other issues, CMS formally canceled a Trump administration rule that would have required Medicare to cover breakthrough medical devices.
By Nick Hut
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Medicaid Payment and Reimbursement
In pending legislation, reductions to disproportionate share hospital payments would be used to subsidize commercial insurance for low-income residents of states that haven’t expanded Medicaid.
By Nick Hut
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Telemedicine
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: A majority of people prefer in-person healthcare to telehealth visits, patients have trouble grasping information during doctor visits, and W...
By Deborah Filipek
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Financial Leadership
HFMA’s 2021 Annual Conference underscored a healthcare industry at a crossroads amid the lingering COVID-19 pandemic and daunting financial trends.
By Nick Hut
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Strategic Planning
At HFMA’s Annual Conference, David Shulkin, former secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, explained why some of the VA’s strategies would serve the healthcare industry well if implemented in the private sector.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
The presentation of the Richard L. Clarke Board of Directors Award was meant as a salute to the immense sacrifice and overall contribution to healthcare of frontline workers during the pandemic.
By Nick Hut
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Finance and Business Strategy
Recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of healthcare’s culture is key to implementing needed industry changes, according to Robert Pearl, MD, former CEO of Permanente Medical Group.
By Paul Barr
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Financial Leadership
The pivot point marked by the COVID-19 pandemic is a chance for healthcare leaders to guide the industry in a direction that better serves all demographics, said HFMA National Chair Tammie Jackson.
By Nick Hut
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Medicare Payment and Reimbursement
CMS used the 2022 final rule for Medicare physician payments to offer accommodations on policies related to telehealth and more, but concerns loom about a large cut that's in the offing.
By Nick Hut
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Financial Leadership
The challenges facing the industry are momentous, but healthcare finance professionals should be optimistic about their ability to help find solutions, HFMA President and CEO Joe Fifer said during the kickoff session of the 2021 Annual Conf...
By Nick Hut
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Medicare Payment and Reimbursement
Medicare policies affecting price transparency, the inpatient-only list and more will take effect Jan. 1 after CMS published its 2022 final rule for hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
If hospital staff aren’t fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, their organization will be deemed noncompliant with Medicare and Medicaid regulations, according to a new rule handed down Thursday by CMS.
By Nick Hut
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Quality Measures
Quality measures derived during the COVID-19 pandemic are not an accurate gauge of hospital performance in federal programs such as Value-Based Purchasing.
By Nick Hut
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Leadership
HFMA’s Oregon Chapter produces a regular podcast to keep healthcare finance professionals connected to the Chapter and informed of current healthcare industry issues.
By Crystal Milazzo
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Leadership
HRG has appointed HFMA members Mark Bell and Jason Coffin as CFO and COO, respectively. Five other HFMA members have been named as new CFOs for healthcare facilities around the country.
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Financial Leadership
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: Negative impacts of work spur nurses’ plans to leave their jobs, annual healthcare spending is higher than ever for insured individuals, and ...
By Deborah Filipek
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Wage Index
Wage index adjustments leave some hospitals at a disadvantage and are costly for the Medicare program, according to policy advisers.
By Nick Hut
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Cost Effectiveness of Health
In a recent study, a large group of patients with medically complex chronic conditions were referred to and seen at an Indianapolis-based outpatient critical care transition clinic saw fewer posthospital inpatient admissions and realized de...
By Deborah Filipek
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Payment Models
A forthcoming revamp of federal value-based payment models will include features designed to encourage provider participation, CMS and CMMI leaders said.
By Nick Hut
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Payment Trends
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: Insurers are behind in billions of dollars in payments to hospitals, the strain on clinicians and staff grows amid the pandemic, and CFO duti...
By Deborah Filipek
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Strategic Partnerships Mergers and Acquisitions
The number of M&A transactions involving hospitals and health systems remained at historically low levels, but the average revenue involved was far higher than in recent years.
By Nick Hut
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Staff Development
Learn more about HFMA’s Premium Facilitated Learning — a new line of courses — that combine self-directed study with expert facilitation in this Q&A with HFMA’s Sue Spear, director of Digital Learning and Todd Nelson, director of Partner R...
By Stephani Johnston
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Strategic Planning
A recent survey finds healthcare providers working to ensure their strategic planning incorporates key trends, spurring innovations in care delivery models.
By Nick Hut
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Patient Financial Communications
A newly issued federal rule on surprise billing includes regulations designed to improve price transparency for self-pay patients.
By Nick Hut
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Cost Effectiveness of Health
The head of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation spoke with an HFMA audience about the importance of efforts at the federal level and beyond to improve the cost effectiveness of health.
By Nick Hut
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Health Plan Payment and Reimbursement
A new rule establishes a process for resolving payment disputes between health plans and hospitals when regulations on surprise billing begin in 2022.
By Nick Hut
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Leadership
Danielle Gori, president of HFMA’s South Carolina Chapter, talks about how the diversity and inclusion initiative came about and the chapter’s plans for it.
By Crystal Milazzo
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Leadership
By Crystal Milazzo
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Coronavirus
Mayo Clinic’s Sean C. Dowdy shares best practices healthcare professionals can use to stay safe while traveling and attending live events, and he discusses what Mayo Clinic’s COVID-19 modeling shows for Olmsted County in Minnesota.
By Deborah Filipek
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Price Transparency
Niall Brennan, a leading expert on healthcare cost drivers, is among the skeptics who doubt the ongoing price transparency push can result in a more efficient system.
By Nick Hut
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Cost of Care
A new report issued by a leading health plan is the latest sign that hospitals and health systems can expect payers to ramp up implementation of site-neutral payments.
By Nick Hut
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Billing and Collections
A new rule from HHS sets forth the maximum penalty for violations of new patient-billing regulations that take effect Jan. 1, 2022.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $25.5 billion in upcoming distributions from the Provider Relief Fund.
By Nick Hut
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Cost Effectiveness of Health
HFMA President and CEO Joe Fifer participated in an international summit that included a session on bolstering health through appropriate investment strategies.
By Nick Hut
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Medicare Payment and Reimbursement
The Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund is on course to run out of money by 2026, and that assessment wasn’t the only concerning part for hospitals in a new government report.
By Nick Hut
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Staff Development
HFMA’s Annual Conference 2021, which begins Nov. 8, will provide education and networking opportunities for both in-person and virtual attendees.
By Deborah Filipek
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Patient Access
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: Expectations for convenient access to care in the pandemic era, a look at ICU bed use across the U.S., and the cost of hospitalizations among...
By Deborah Filipek
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Leadership
HFMA’s 2021 Leadership Training Conference took place July 25-27 in Orlando. For the first time, chapter leaders could attend either in person or virtually.
By Crystal Milazzo
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Financial Leadership
HFMA members Amanda Verner Thompson and Vasanta Pundarika named to ABF Journal’s 2021 Top Women in Asset-Based Lending. Seven HFMA members have new positions.
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Leadership
HFMA announces the winners and runners-up of the Association's Helen Yerger/L. Vann Seawell Best Article Award for outstanding editorial achievement in hfm magazine in fiscal year 2020-2021.
By Deborah Filipek
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Medicare Payment and Reimbursement
A roundup of the top news affecting healthcare finance professionals.
By Nick Hut
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Revenue Cycle
Three winners of HFMA’s 2021 MAP Award share their innovative and effective strategies to build a strong revenue cycle amid uncertainty.
By Laura Hegwer
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Artificial Intelligence
Healthcare organizations can improve the impact of AI applications by making proprietary data more widely available, according to insights shared during a workshop on using AI to advance health equity.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: Hospital-at-home can be part of a pandemic playbook, most Americans believe nurses are underpaid, and healthcare is second to technology for ...
By Deborah Filipek
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Coronavirus
Here's why HFMA will require that everyone on-site at the Annual Conference in Minneapolis provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
By Joseph J. Fifer, FHFMA, CPA
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Telemedicine
Widespread certification for telehealth could encourage policymakers to retain the waivers that have promoted expanded virtual access, industry experts say.
By Nick Hut
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Financial Leadership
Participation in HFMA volunteer leadership roles offers the opportunity to enhance the benefits, products and services provided to HFMA members and healthcare financial professionals across the country.
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Healthcare Business Trends
June was a promising month in terms of hospital financial performance, but the delta variant of the coronavirus threatens to reverse many of the gains.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
New insights illustrate the precise impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital clinical operations.
By Nick Hut
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Operations and Other Technology
The need for better interoperability between hospitals and public health entities is a crucial lesson of the COVID-19 pandemic, a public health official testified to a Senate committee.
By Nick Hut
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Care Process Redesign
A Medicare waiver issued in late 2020 has spurred more health systems to implement home-care programs for acute conditions.
By Nick Hut
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Accountable Care Organizations
Accountable care organizations stand to benefit from a new bill that would increase investment funding and make changes to federal ACO programs, several executives said.
By Nick Hut
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Strategic Planning
At the 2021 Not-for-Profit Health Care Investor Conference, health system executives and industry thought leaders described how hospitals are evolving to meet the needs of communities.
By Nick Hut
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Payment Models
Healthcare industry stakeholders can expect a new approach to how federal payment models are formulated, as a newly released rule for Medicare coverage of kidney care illustrates.
By Nick Hut
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Finance and Business Strategy
The three-hour virtual preview of the Annual Conference, including a look at the educational tracks, key speakers and other attractions, is available on-demand.
By Nick Hut
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Billing and Collections
In a development that many healthcare stakeholders have awaited for months, four federal agencies on Thursday, July 1 released new regulations prohibiting surprise billing in many scenarios.
By Nick Hut
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Revenue Cycle
Presented this year as part of HFMA’s Annual Conference Virtual Preview, the MAP Awards honored organizations that used innovative and effective strategies to achieve excellence in revenue cycle performance in 2020-21.
By Nick Hut
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Payment Reimbursement and Managed Care
An under-the-radar aspect of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act involved hospital eligibility for the 340B program, an industry expert says.
By Nick Hut
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Strategic Planning
Results of HFMA's Outlook Survey show that the healthcare industry is still coping with the challenges of COVID-19 but has started to adapt to a post-pandemic future.
By Nick Hut
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Healthcare Reform
Hospital advocates applauded a Supreme Court ruling June 17 that left the Affordable Care Act in place.
By Nick Hut
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Claims Adjudication
UHC had announced this week that it would evaluate claims starting July 1 to determine whether ED visits were for emergent or nonemergent events.
By Nick Hut
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Claims Adjudication
In a move strongly opposed by provider associations, UnitedHealthcare soon will start denying coverage of ED care that it deems to have been nonemergent.
By Nick Hut
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Payment Models
Fee-for-service came under fire during a workshop in which prominent healthcare industry experts spoke of ways to achieve better integration of financing and care delivery.
By Nick Hut
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Strategic Partnerships Mergers and Acquisitions
New types of provider-payer associations place an emphasis on increasing the value of healthcare rather than merely offering cost savings.
By Nick Hut
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Population Health Management
By reducing wasteful spending, the U.S. healthcare industry would have an easier time funding some of the changes needed to support whole-person health, industry experts said at a conference on how to optimize healthcare financing.
By Nick Hut
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Financial Leadership
Iowa HFMA program chairs share how they planned and hosted the Chapter’s first hybrid post-pandemic event, providing attendees the option to attend either in person or virtually.
By Crystal Milazzo
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Medicare Payment and Reimbursement
Recent healthcare finance and policy news included the release of the proposed rule for the FY22 Inpatient Prospective Payment System.
By Nick Hut
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Healthcare Reform
Leading Democrats in the House and Senate sent out a request for information to healthcare stakeholders, seeking input as they look to establish a public option for health insurance.
By Nick Hut
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Strategic Partnerships Mergers and Acquisitions
During a recent Senate hearing, a hospital advocate responded to criticism of consolidation stemming from mergers among hospitals and hospital acquisitions of physician practices.
By Nick Hut
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Telemedicine
A congressional hearing featured testimony about why fee-for-service is not a viable way to fund a Medicare telehealth expansion.
By Nick Hut
News
The American Society of Business Publication Editors honored the editorial team behind HFMA’s hfm magazine, e-newsletters, online content and “Voices in Healthcare Finance” podcast with five national awards.
By HFMA staff reports
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Financial Leadership
HFMA’s first Cost Effectiveness of Health Summit drove home the urgency of improving how healthcare dollars are spent.
By Nick Hut
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Accountable Care Organizations
Healthcare provider organizations are petitioning the Biden administration to slow recently finalized quality-related changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program.
By Nick Hut
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Coronavirus
A continuing drop in hospital job numbers, President Biden’s plans for the ACA and how COVID-19 affected stroke care during the pandemic are all topics covered in this week’s Healthcare News of Note.
By Deborah Filipek
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Strategic Planning
In a survey of hospital strategic planners, larger health systems were substantially more likely to report that their volumes had reached or exceeded pre-COVID-19 levels.
By Nick Hut
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Financial Leadership
HFMA’s First Illinois Chapter teams up with other Region 7 chapters to convert its annual CHFP practicum into a virtual region-wide event.
By Crystal Milazzo
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Staff Development
Amy Assenmacher challenges Spectrum Health revenue cycle employees to earn HFMA certification. Peg Burnette and Jeff Hurst selected for new CFO positions.
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Accounting and Financial Reporting
Passage of Medicare in 1965 would have a profound effect on the American Association of Hospital Accounting, resulting in a change of name and direction for the Association.
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Medicare Payment and Reimbursement
News briefs for May include recoupment of Medicare advance payments, a potential issue with hospitals' 340B eligibility, and more.
By Nick Hut
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Value-Based Payment
The director of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation is conducting a “strategic refresh” of the agency to consider how the healthcare industry’s transition to value can be improved.
By Nick Hut