Closures of Walmart’s health centers reflect the widespread financial constraints in U.S. healthcare
Beyond signaling a setback for retail-based healthcare disruptors, Walmart’s recent decision to close its health centers is symptomatic of issues hampering the nation’s ecosystem for primary care, industry analysts say. The retail behemoth announced April 30 it would be closing all 51 of its health centers across five states, along with its virtual-health service. Five…
The power of AI in healthcare: a leader’s guide
In this new guide, explore five key areas every healthcare organization should consider when developing a generative AI strategy and assessing potential vendors’ solutions.
Demonstrating revenue cycle excellence just got easier with the newest HFMA certification
The Executive of Healthcare Revenue Cycle (EHRC) certification, HFMA’s newest member recognition, has been quite popular with members since it was announced in mid-February. As of March 31, 22 HFMA members had applied for the EHRC certification and 18 members earned it, demonstrating excellence in revenue cycle, said Shirley Heavlin, certification operations manager for HFMA.…
News Briefs: Hospital advocates bemoan the small Medicare payment increase proposed for FY25
The payment update described in Medicare’s FY25 proposed rule for inpatient hospital care and long-term care hospitals falls well short of what hospitals need to keep up with costs, advocates say. The inpatient payment rate would rise by 2.6% for hospitals that fulfill quality-reporting requirements and meet the criteria to be designated as meaningful users…
Navigating toward successful contract negotiations with health plans
A group of healthcare leaders discuss various tactics they are using to negotiate better rates with payers and ensure payers’ commitment to accurate, timely payment.
Geeta Nayyar: Healthcare industry needs to take charge in refuting misinformation
In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Geeta Nayyar, MD, MBA, found herself captivated by the misinformation — and disinformation — spewed across social media. People were falling prey to lies, conspiracy theories and snake-oil hucksters, and in some cases, the bad advice killed them. The environment reminded her of another deadly misinformation crisis…
Not-for-profit health systems need a new enterprise strategy
Based on findings of recent original research, the current financial performance of not-for-profit (NFP) health systems raises concerns over their long-term financial viability. The research findings underscore the need for NFP health system leaders to reconceptualize their organization as comprising six strategic business units (SBUs) and then manage each in terms of competitiveness. Research findings…
Shawn Stack: The value of revisiting policies and processes for financial assistance
The charity care processes adopted by healthcare providers have attracted criticism in media stories focusing on the high cost of care. On a recent episode of HFMA’s “Voices in Healthcare Finance” podcast, HFMA Policy Director Shawn Stack discussed the value of revisiting financial assistance policies and processes. Below is an excerpt from the interview. Erika…
Why the Medicare physician fee schedule is sheer madness
Amid the complexities of U.S. healthcare, there is probably no construct that’s more byzantine than the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) — the program’s elaborate system of paying physicians and other clinicians (including nurse practitioners, physician assistants and clinical psychologists) for more than 10,000 medical services.a In 2022, the schedule drove about $71.2 billion in…
Reimagining charity care: How Monument Health puts patients first with an innovative financial assistance program
Deepak Manmohan Goyal, MD, MBBS, MBA, executive director for revenue cycle and supply chain at Monument Health, remembers the case of a 40-year-old patient with late-stage cancer who sought care at the Rapid City, S.D., health system a few years ago before succumbing to her disease. An earlier and unrelated care episode ideally would have…