Hospitals, Administration View Single-Payer as Chief Threat
Hospital advocates joined the Trump administration this week in identifying various single-payer proposals as the primary threat facing the U.S. healthcare system.
Democrats Decry Trump Administration’s Court Support for ACA Rollback
A day after the Trump administration in court backed full repeal of the Affordable Care Act, members of Congress warned about potential impacts on public and private insurance coverage.
Hospitals Targeted in Federal Cost-Saving Ideas
A bipartisan group of policy advocates urged Congress to target hospitals as part of a highly anticipated legislative push on cost control.
March 11-15: MedPAC Highlights Need for National ED Coding Guide
Medicare emergency department (ED) patients have gotten sicker in recent years, according to a new analysis of hospital coding trends. As a result, national ED coding guidelines may be needed, said the congressional advisory panel that conducted the analysis.
April 1-5: What Events Are Coming in Health Care
Next week’s healthcare finance events and developments include the online posting of 340B ceiling prices by a federal agency.
Hospitals See Improvement in Value Contracting with Commercial Plans
Hospitals continue to have more difficulty establishing value-based contracts with commercial health plans than with government payers, but that may be changing.
Medicare rates increasingly impacting health care
Even assuming the federal government does not adopt a single-payer model such as Medicare-for-all, industry watchers see Medicare’s impact on the healthcare sector expanding.
Provider payment standard draws congressional focus in surprise-bill debate
The fault line in congressional discussions this week on addressing surprise medical bills involved the best approach to determining provider payment in such situations.
What value-based payment changes are coming at the federal level?
Expect a post-acute care bundle, rural-focused alternative payments, value-based payment approaches inspired by Medicare Advantage (MA), and additional mandatory models from the federal government, a top official said this week.
Maryland’s global budget model: Impact on overall healthcare utilization remains murky
Implementation of global budgets at some Maryland hospitals cut utilization for several services, according to recent research, but evidence suggests the care merely shifted to other hospitals and providers.