Financial Sustainability Report: February 2021
The February Financial Sustainability Report, sponsored by Kaufman Hall, explores emerging issues pertaining to physicians, including physician compensation and payment for services. It also includes insight into the impact of denials on value-based payment.
HHS delays implementation of rule requiring FQHCs to provide insulin, epinephrine at 340B prices
HHS has postponed a Trump administration regulation that would require federally qualified health centers to make certain drugs more affordable for low-income patients and will consider whether to withdraw the rule altogether.
Disproportionate Share Hospital funding to states doesn’t match up with key benchmarks, report finds
Disproportionate Share Hospital payments don’t always align with key metrics such as uninsured rates and uncompensated care costs, a new policy report finds.
Providers that administer the COVID-19 vaccine are getting a payment bump from CMS
Providers will receive an increase in the Medicare payment rate for administering the COVID-19 vaccine starting March 15, CMS announced.
For rural hospitals, affiliations with large health systems can be a mixed bag
Significant declines in inpatient admissions among rural hospitals that eventually close may be a consequence of affiliations with health systems.
With insolvency looming for the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, provider payments could be impacted
The Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, used to pay for Part A hospital care, is on track to become insolvent as soon as 2024. Insolvency could lead to delays in payments to providers and adversely affect patient access.
Healthcare News of Note: Trump administration diverted nearly $10 billion in funds slated for hospitals to Operation Warp Speed
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles, including the discovery that provider funds were used for Warp Speed operations, the need to retain the Medicare telehealth expansion and healthcare antitrust issues to watch.
5 ways to measure rep productivity
To move your performance in a positive direction and recover more cash more quickly at less cost, you need to start measuring rep productivity in meaningful, actionable ways.
After OIG says hospitals may be engaging in upcoding, CMS and AHA dispute the finding
The HHS Office of Inspector General says a significant rise in high-severity inpatient admissions with no corresponding increase in length of stay indicates a possible pattern of upcoding by hospitals in recent years.
New federal guidance seeks to clarify reimbursement of COVID-19 testing and vaccinations
Federal agencies have issued new guidance intended to make it easier for healthcare providers to receive reimbursement for administering COVID-19 tests to insured individuals and for giving vaccinations to the uninsured.