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…
Senate bill would give hospitals a big break from looming Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts (updated)
Nov. 15 update: On Nov. 14, the House passed legislation on a bipartisan basis to keep the government funded through Jan. 19. Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments would be guaranteed to remain at their full amount through that date, and the bill similarly maintains short-term funding for graduate medical education, community health centers and the…
Medicare outpatient payments to hospitals won’t rise considerably in 2024, according to a proposed rule
Medicare’s newly proposed outpatient payment update for 2024 is unlikely to be greeted with enthusiasm by hospitals. The update for items and services provided in the hospital outpatient or ambulatory surgical center setting would be 2.8%, mirroring the proposed change for inpatient payments. The base update would be 3%, with a statutorily required productivity adjustment…
Healthcare News of Note: Nearly half of Americans live in areas with inadequate access to mental health workers
Although nearly 50% of Americans live in a mental health workforce shortage area, there are steps that can increase the workforce and prevent burnout among these professionals. The two health insurance coverage trends responsible for driving an increase in medical debt are inadequate healthcare coverage and high-deductible health plans. Forty-four healthcare businesses are among 200…
The COVID-19 public health emergency is over: Here’s what healthcare providers should know
An era ends for the U.S. healthcare industry with the termination of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) at the close of the day on Thursday, May 11. The termination means providers are losing many of the federal waivers and flexibilities that have been in place for all or most of the PHE, which took…
Healthcare News of Note: CVS finalizes purchases of Signify Health, Oak Street Health, moving into home healthcare and primary care
CVS Health has completed the acquisitions of Signify Health and Oak Street Health, expanding its efforts to implement a value-based payment ecosystem focused on holistic care. Chatbot responses to patient’s questions were preferred over physician responses, earning higher rankings from evaluators for both quality and empathy, according to a recent study. Increasing rates of depression,…
Healthcare News of Note: Medicare to negotiate reduced prices for 40 drugs by 2028, says study
Medicare drug price negotiation has the potential to benefit Medicare beneficiaries across some of the most common disease states.
Healthcare News of Note: New PCORI initiative targets industry’s slowness in adopting results of comparative effectiveness research
Over the past few weeks, I have found these industry news stories that should be of interest to healthcare finance professionals. 1. Goal of PCORI initiative: Reduce the estimated 17-year wait time to adopt new and better treatments Forty-two health systems have signed on to an initiative to translate new research into changes in…
Healthcare News of Note: How to prevent pediatric mental health revisits
A new study provides a better understanding of the trends and factors associated with an increase in pediatric mental health ED revisits. Black and brown skin tones are underrepresented in medical training and textbooks, which can lead to missed diagnoses and inequities in care. Dermatologists are doing what they can to address the issue. A…
Healthcare News of Note: What healthcare sector innovations are consumers most excited about?
Some 48% of healthcare consumers surveyed said improved insight into how much care would cost was the No. 1 item they were excited about when it came to innovation in healthcare. Employers can expect an increase of more than 20,000% in adolescent mental health telehealth costs, according to a study showing telehealth appointments cost an…