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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…

Nick Hut March 14, 2024

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…

Nick Hut March 13, 2024

Cyberattack on Change Healthcare brings turmoil to healthcare operations nationwide

Editor’s note: If you are an HFMA member from a provider organization, consider submitting a request to join the Change Healthcare Business Continuity Workgroup (https://community.hfma.org/change-healthcare-workgroup/). Information about future calls, mitigation strategies and industry updates will be shared in this group. HFMA welcomes participants to use the discussion forum to address challenges and explore solutions with…

Nick Hut March 13, 2024

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…

Nick Hut March 6, 2024

New rule on Medicaid DSH payments will impose stricter limits on many hospitals

Numerous hospitals that receive Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments face a tighter cap on their payment amounts after the Feb. 23 publication of a CMS final rule. The regulations were spawned by 2020 year-end legislation that made changes to the DSH hospital-specific limit (HSL), including with respect to how third-party payments factor into the…

Nick Hut February 23, 2024

New data shows providers continuing to win most No Surprises Act independent dispute resolution cases

Providers won a large majority of disputes initiated during the first half of 2023 through the No Surprises Act’s arbitration portal for adjudicating out-of-network payments, according to newly published data. HHS and the U.S. Departments of Labor and Treasury released public-use files (available to download here under “2023 Reporting Year”) showing the outcome of every…

Nick Hut February 21, 2024

Site-neutral payment has backing in healthcare policy circles, but its efficacy as a cost restraint is unclear

The concept of site-neutral payment continues to receive support from members of Congress and healthcare policy analysts, as demonstrated during a recent hearing. The Jan. 31 hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee was intended, in part, to promote pending legislation that would strengthen price transparency and implement other policies designed to…

Nick Hut February 15, 2024

Private equity investing showing signs of rebound

The Federal Reserve’s plan to begin reducing interest rates in 2024 will likely unleash private equity’s pent-up demand for physician practices and other healthcare services companies. “Everybody wants to transact,” said Bret Schiller, managing director and head of healthcare in corporate client banking at J.P. Morgan. “I think that, at the first rate cut we…

Lola Butcher February 12, 2024

Hospitals reached steadier ground financially as they moved into 2024

Hospitals came into 2024 with some financial momentum, even as expenses continued to rise and pivotal decisions loomed. The year-to-date median hospital operating margin reached 2.3% in December, the high mark for 2023 and the 10th consecutive month in which margins were positive, according to monthly data from Syntellis Performance Solutions, part of Strata Decision…

Nick Hut February 12, 2024

Strategies for success: Tackling common clinical documentation integrity challenges head-on

Clinical documentation, which includes a record of exams, symptoms, diagnoses, medications, tests, treatments and other elements of a patient’s medical care, plays a vital role in creating a complete picture of an individual’s health and is needed to develop effective care plans. It also ensures that all providers who see the patient have access to…

HFMA February 9, 2024
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