News Briefs: Medicaid DSH payment cut barely averted in September, still possible in November
Hospitals received a last-day reprieve from substantial cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, with House leaders reversing course Sept. 30 and ushering through a six-week government funding package. Language in the bill ensured the start of a four-year Medicaid DSH cut amounting to $32 billion was pushed back from Oct. 1 to Nov.…
The No Surprises Act: How healthcare organizations can create a winning strategy
Find a breakdown of the No Surprises Act in this business profile with an update on four main administrative requirements of the bill and insight to improve hospitals and healthcare systems using technology for future regulatory changes.
Hospital, physician advocates disagree over the role of physician-owned hospitals as policymakers ramp up focus
Hospital advocacy groups hope to stanch momentum that’s building in policy circles to increase the number of physician-owned hospitals. The American Hospital Association (AHA) and Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) issued a joint statement Oct. 18, saying permitting greater numbers of physician-owned hospitals (POHs) would have adverse effects on healthcare costs, access and quality. The…
In response to a congressional RFI, provider advocates give input on ways to bolster rural healthcare
Hospital and physician groups were among the respondents to a request by a key congressional committee for information on improving rural healthcare. In an RFI issued in September, the House Ways and Means Committee sought policy solutions for augmenting access to — and the quality of — healthcare in relatively remote areas. “The committee will…
Education session at Global Health Exhibition offers learners wide array of healthcare finance and RCM topics
HFMA recently spoke with Ahmed Emad Al-Hamalawy, executive director, at Selat, the parent company of NAWA. NAWA is the exclusive sponsor of a one-day education training at the Global Health Exhibition (GHE) in Riyadh on Oct. 31. Al-Hamalawy is one of the instructors for the education session, and he shared the topics he will cover…
Buyer’s Guide: Patient financial engagement technologies
This whitepaper is a buyer’s guide to assist in understanding the benefits of how adopting new technology to increase patient financial engagement can improve the bottom line while improving the patient experience:
Why autonomous coding is having a moment in healthcare
Autonomous coding is growing in the healthcare industry, and the market is expected to reach $88 billion by 2030, up from $35 billion in 2022. Some expected outcomes of this include: Faster revenue cycle, less human intervention and improved patient satisfaction and care.
Hospitals push back on Senate report that calls out lack of spending on charity care
Not-for-profit (NFP) hospitals continue to be the subject of congressional scrutiny, with the chair of a key Senate committee issuing a report that questions whether they provide levels of charity care that are commensurate with their tax exemption. The report was released Oct. 10 by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate Health, Education,…
3 key interventions to address lagging payer reimbursements
It seems as if commercial payers are doing all they can to keep from reimbursing providers in a timely manner. According to a recent report by Crowe, 31% of claims submitted to commercial payers in the first quarter of 2023 were not paid for at least three months, as compared with 12% of Medicare claims.…
Applying AI to revenue cycle management
Three examples of AI applications in healthcare provide insight into how healthcare providers are using the technology today. The organizations are Auburn Community Hospital in Auburn, New York; Banner Health in Phoenix, Arizona; and Community Medical Centers, based in Fresno, California, Addressing RCM staffing shortages: Auburn Community Hospital Auburn Community Hospital, an independent 99-bed rural…