Federal scrutiny of contracting continues
A new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) task force will include healthcare contracting among its priorities, according to attorneys. The FTC Healthcare Task Force was announced in March to coordinate existing healthcare enforcement and advocacy efforts across the agency. “Consolidation and anticompetitive conduct have distorted the economic landscape in many healthcare markets,” Andrew Ferguson, chairman of…
Nathan Kaufman: Hospital-based anesthesia and radiology operate in a broken financial model
The good ol’ days of hospital-based physicians providing services at no cost in exchange for exclusivity are over, creating significant disruptions. Health systems are facing a growing shortage of anesthesiologists and radiologists, a shortfall that is driven by a broken business model for those types of services. Underpayment for anesthesia and radiology care by Medicare and Medicaid combined with a lack of experience in related revenue cycle management and high…
News Briefs: Hospital labor costs rose by almost 40% between 2019 and early 2022
As published in hfm magazine, a monthly roundup of top news for healthcare finance professionals.