The impact of claims denials on the financial health of healthcare
While their hospitals and healthcare centers have long had to deal with claims denials, the number of denied claims continues to rise and payers are showing little inclination to help solve the problem, according to several roundtable participants.
Best practices for relieving unprecedented cost pressures facing healthcare providers
Due to labor cost increases, inflation, declining Medicare reimbursements and other reasons, health systems across the nation are feeling a new financial strain after the height of the pandemic.
Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program Guidance
HFMA presents a summary of CMS proposed initial guidance memorandum pertaining to the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.
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.
Hospitals push back against a coordinated effort to revamp the 340B program
A lobbying fight has started over the future of the 340B Drug Pricing Program, with hospitals seeking to protect what they view as an essential source of cost savings. The advocacy group 340B Health and prominent hospital associations are seeking to repel an effort led by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) to…
Highlights of the Administration’s FY 2024 Budget
HFMA presents a summary of healthcare-related proposals included in the President’s budget for fiscal year 2024, released by the Biden Administration on March 9, 2023.
New guidance for No Surprises Act arbitration looks like an improvement for providers
Responding to a recent court ruling, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has updated the application of criteria for deciding No Surprises Act (NSA) independent dispute resolution (IDR) cases. Certified IDR entities (i.e., arbitrators) received guidance March 17 instructing them to more directly consider multiple factors when deciding on an out-of-network payment…
Here comes the Medicaid unwinding: The healthcare industry braces for coverage disruptions
A potentially tumultuous period for revenue cycle teams in particular and the U.S. healthcare system in general begins April 1, with the phasing out of a three-year run of Medicaid continuous enrollment. The so-called Medicaid “unwinding” originally was connected to end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), which is scheduled for May 11. But…
The media blame game regarding patient financial conversations
Brad Dennison, HFMA chief content executive, discusses the March hfm cover story about patient-friendly payment and what some media organizations get wrong.
Data capture and coding for social determinants of health are works in progress, per reports
In the effort to bring social determinants of health (SDoH) more under the purview of healthcare providers, one tricky aspect is establishing a data and coding infrastructure. Recent reports highlight this challenge. For example, a survey conducted for the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) found that although 78% of 2,637 respondents said their organizations…