Employer-sponsored healthcare coverage would benefit from better access to data, Congress is told
Employers can stimulate efforts to improve the value of healthcare, but they need help in the form of better access to claims data and prices, according to testimony at a recent congressional hearing. With those tools in hand, employers can more easily forge provider partnerships that lower costs and raise healthcare quality, health benefit administrators…
The state of U.S. primary care: How new ways of thinking can spur meaningful improvement
As healthcare stakeholders consider ways to fortify the nation’s primary care system, industry leaders recommend emphasizing several strategies and components — and not waiting to act. “We’re close to midnight in many respects in thinking about how to urgently preserve and expand primary care in America,” Susan Dentzer, president and CEO of America’s Physician Groups…
2024 outlook: Hospitals can expect a steadier year financially, but key questions loom
Although the past year brought more stability for the not-for-profit hospital sector, analysts foresee 2024 as a pivotal period in determining the viability of individual organizations. Fitch Ratings continues to describe the sector’s outlook as “Deteriorating.” In a year-end report, the credit-rating agency said downgrades of hospitals and health systems in 2023 had outpaced upgrades…
HFMA strategy session highlights challenges and opportunities for healthcare finance leaders: payer relations, supply costs, AI and more
The legacy healthcare provider’s position in the industry could grow tenuous if leaders don’t respond boldly and strategically to ongoing trends, according to insights recently presented to HFMA leaders. “We’re at a crossroads right now,” Ashraf Shehata, principal and U.S. national sector leader for healthcare and life sciences with KPMG, said in November during a…
Measuring what matters to patients is key to hospital ROI
Despite the need to factor consumer behavior into health system business models, hospitals’ current operating model remains provider-centric, with performance metrics focused on transactions rather than the strength and durability of consumer relationships. At the same time, many organizations are hesitant to make investments in consumer-focused solutions for which the ROI is unclear. Through original…
New data on national healthcare spending highlights the constraints facing hospitals
Recently published 2022 data indicates relatively restrained national healthcare spending as the COVID-19 pandemic faded, especially in the hospital sector. The increase in spending on hospital services slowed from 4.5% in 2021 to 2.2% in 2022, CMS actuaries reported Dec. 13 in Health Affairs. The increase was significantly less than in 2020 (6.2%) and the…
Moody’s sees potential positive RCM impact from AI
Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has joined other industry players in identifying ways artificial intelligence can create efficiencies in revenue cycle management. The growing use of the technology potentially could bring accounts receivable balances down and minimize write-offs of past-due balances, according to the three authors of a report published in the company’s “Healthcare Quarterly”…
10 Keys to Restoring Trust in Healthcare
The issue of restoring consumer trust in the U.S. healthcare system encompasses a wide range of concerns. Factors in the perceived loss of trust include anxiety and confusion over costs, entrenched inequity, a glut of misinformation about vaccines and other treatments, and data and privacy breaches. To examine the problem and explore solutions, HFMA’s 16th…
News Briefs: Medicaid DSH payment cut barely averted in September, still possible in November
Hospitals received a last-day reprieve from substantial cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, with House leaders reversing course Sept. 30 and ushering through a six-week government funding package. Language in the bill ensured the start of a four-year Medicaid DSH cut amounting to $32 billion was pushed back from Oct. 1 to Nov.…
Hospital, physician advocates disagree over the role of physician-owned hospitals as policymakers ramp up focus
Hospital advocacy groups hope to stanch momentum that’s building in policy circles to increase the number of physician-owned hospitals. The American Hospital Association (AHA) and Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) issued a joint statement Oct. 18, saying permitting greater numbers of physician-owned hospitals (POHs) would have adverse effects on healthcare costs, access and quality. The…