5 things to know about Medicare’s FY24 final rule for inpatient payments as hospitals foresee adverse impacts
The FY24 final rule for Medicare inpatient payments didn’t bring hospitals the type of rate update they sought, and for some organizations a bigger concern is changes to uncompensated care (UC) payments and disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments. Here are five big points about the regulations, which take effect Oct. 1 and also cover Medicare…
The latest on hospital finances: Signs of improvement, but margins remain tight
Industry-level hospital financial insights reflect the mixed results of a recovery that’s in progress but is expected to be a long slog. In a 2023 midyear report (login required), Moody’s Investors Service noted that margins are below 3% for a third of the company’s rated hospitals. Before the pandemic, only about 6% had margins in…
House committee approves bill requiring national provider identifiers for off-campus outpatient departments
A bill with widespread support in Congress would affect hospital billing procedures at off-campus outpatient departments if it becomes law. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce on July 12 unanimously approved legislation called the Transparency in Billing Act, which states that starting in 2024, hospital claims for items and services furnished in off-campus…
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: What were the most-read blogs during the first half of 2023?
The top Healthcare News of Note blog posts for the first six months of the year were a mixed bag in terms of topics, but all of them grabbed the most reader attention based on number of clicks: Seven hospitals were recognized for elevating nursing excellence and improving patient outcomes with Press Ganey’s National Database…
10 Vital Responses to Healthcare Disruption
Disruption is reverberating throughout the healthcare industry, and it’s incumbent on legacy organizations to develop strategic responses for the benefit of their consumers, their communities and themselves. With that overarching challenge becoming ever more pressing, HFMA’s 2023 Spring Thought Leadership Retreat brought together leaders from across the industry May 4-5 in Atlanta to consider approaches…
Billions of dollars in lump-sum payments are coming to hospitals as a remedy for 340B-related underpayments
Hospitals that participate in the 340B Drug Pricing Program stand to receive $9 billion in aggregate lump-sum payments as compensation for underpayments from Medicare during a nearly five-year period. In a proposed rule issued July 7, CMS described how it would provide remedies following a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that the U.S. Department of Health…
Annual Conference: Houston Methodist uses AI in virtual models for critical care, patient observation and more
Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving innovation in clinical operations at the Houston Methodist hospital system, as explained during a presentation this week at HFMA’s Annual Conference. Among other virtual-care programs developed by the organization’s innovation center, Houston Methodist has incorporated a virtual ICU and virtual observation in the inpatient setting. Both programs use AI to…
Annual Conference: How Mayo Clinic establishes the mindset and processes that foster innovation
Hospitals and health systems must adapt their practices using an innovator’s mindset to keep up with the change sweeping the industry, according to a presentation this week at HFMA’s Annual Conference. “Innovation, at this point in our industry’s landscape, is pretty critical,” said Praveen Mekala, enterprise division chair with Mayo Clinic, referring to the problems…
Annual Conference: Healthcare entrepreneur Alex Oshmyansky describes his efforts to disrupt drug pricing
Arguably no segment of the healthcare industry is more susceptible to disruption than the market for prescription drugs, as Alex Oshmyansky, MD, PhD, made clear Wednesday morning during the closing session of HFMA’s Annual Conference. Oshmyansky spoke about his personal efforts to disrupt the pharmaceutical market in his role as co-founder and CEO of Mark…