Medicare skin substitute reimbursement changes have raised provider risks
A formerly high-revenue healthcare service has been diminished on several fronts in 2026. Medicare Part B spending on skin substitutes increased by 640% between 2022 and 2024, reaching nearly $3 billion per quarter, according to a government report. Steps taken by CMS and policymakers to counter that trend include an overhauled payment system and an…
FastFinance: AI nurse opposition; OPPS changes detailed
HFMA’s FastFinance newsletter is now a podcast. Host Rich Daly discusses the most current and relevant healthcare news, delivered in an easily digestible format. AI resistance by nurses is spreading nationwide but there are ways hospitals can use it to boost their productivity while minimizing opposition. Also, this week’s Weird Number: 66%. That’s the share…
CMS’s 2027 OPPS proposed rule would cut 340B and imaging payments
Medicare payment for 340B drugs and imaging services would incur notable reductions under CMS’s 2027 proposed rule for the hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs). Payment for many services would increase due to budget neutrality requirements, but the net impact of the various changes projects to be negative for most…
Medicare funding projections sharpen concerns over access and payment rates
The latest annual report on the state of Medicare funding reflects a conundrum for healthcare industry stakeholders. Medicare spending on healthcare services is on an increasingly difficult fiscal track, projected to rise from $1.2 trillion in 2025 to $2 trillion in 2035. Yet as acknowledged in the report issued this month by the Medicare trustees,…
Q&A: Financial lessons from Northwell’s ACO
As the federal government gears up for another expansion of accountable care organizations (ACOs) and other types of value-based payment, one health system reflected on ways it improved its financial performance. Northwell Health has been part of the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) ACO for several years, treated nearly 90,000 attributed beneficiaries, earned shared savings…
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.