Medicare spells out proposed conditions of participation for rural emergency hospitals
Seeking to shore up operations for rural hospitals, CMS issued a proposed rule that establishes recommended regulations for the new rural emergency hospital category.
Healthcare News of Note: Telemedicine use for cancer care should be more equitable
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: There’s a need to address inequities in telemedicine use for cancer care, almost 25% of physicians report mistreatment, and most Medicare Advantage enrollees are satisfied with their plan.
Healthcare News of Note: U.S. hospitals performed 106,474 unnecessary procedures on older adults during the ‘dangerous’ first year of COVID-19
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: 106,474 unnecessary procedures were performed on older adults in hospitals early in the pandemic, 55% of patients in rural areas relied on telehealth to receive outpatient mental health and substance use services in March-August 2021, and women and people of color with chest pain wait longer to be seen by a physician.
2022 healthcare trends driving change in patient financial engagement
Disruptive changes brought on by rising medical costs and increased patient cost sharing require an evolution in traditional patient billing and collection practices. Rapidly changing state and federal regulations, COVID-19, consumer behaviors and expectations, disrupters, technology and operational challenges impact healthcare in parallel.
2023 regulations for Medicare Advantage and ACA marketplaces seek to enhance network adequacy standards
HHS and CMS recently released sets of 2023 regulations that affect provider network adequacy standards in Medicare Advantage and the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces.
HHS policy update: Recent developments include an extension of the public health emergency and notable progress in reducing the Medicare appeals backlog
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra signed a 90-day extension of the COVID-19 public health emergency, ensuring the PHE will last until at least mid-July.
More than 2 years into the pandemic, the issue of deferred care continues to affect the healthcare industry
Concerns about the implications of deferred care continue to grow as healthcare organizations establish their strategies for a post-pandemic landscape.
Healthcare News of Note: Drug manufacturers reap $6.7 billion in provider relief funding, leaving hospitals and health systems with no aid allotted for the delta and omicron surges
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: $7 billion from the Provider Relief Fund was used by the Biden administration to pay drug manufacturers, HHS takes a strong stance on requiring health plan/insurance issuers to deliver parity for mental health and substance-use disorder benefits, and investors show continued interest in healthcare M&A in 2022.
Key takeaways from HFMA’s latest Outlook Survey: Healthcare finance professionals anticipate technology-driven changes
HFMA’s most recent Outlook Survey of healthcare finance professionals highlights the potential of technology to usher in big changes in upcoming years.
The economics of a telehealth visit: A time-based study at Penn Medicine
Research into the costs of delivering telehealth versus in-person visits by the Department of Orthopaedics at Penn Medicine sought to answer the health systems’ questions about the long-term economic viability of telemedicine services, and to help inform their conversations with payers about how much they should appropriately be paid for the services.