Affordable Care Act

1 in 3 Rural Adults Report Issues Affording Medical Bills

January 14, 2020 - One in three rural adults have problems paying their medical bills or dental treatments even after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, according to a recent study by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.  Published in JAMA Network Open on January 8, the analysis of 1,300 adults in 2018 and 1,405 adults in...

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Hospitals Saw Lower Interest Rates After Affordable Care Act

by Samantha McGrail

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) did more to improve hospital fiscal health than boost profitability and decrease the amount of uncompensated care delivered, according to a recent study from the...

CMS Finalizes How It Will Cut Medicaid DSH Payments Starting Oct 1

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Update 9/27/2019: The Senate passed a continuing resolution that would temporarily stop the implementation of Medicaid DSH payment cuts until Nov. 22, 2019.  CMS on Monday finalized a rule...

Medicaid Expansion Improved Financial Stability for Health Centers

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Federally qualified health centers in Medicaid expansion states were significantly more likely to report financial stability and funding improvements since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act...

Drug Prices, Medicaid Reform Major Themes in Trump’s HHS Budget

by Jacqueline LaPointe

President Trump plans to decrease HHS funding by about 21 percent compared to 2017, while focusing the federal department’s budget on prescription drug prices reductions and Medicaid reform,...

Hospital Closures Increased in States Without Medicaid Expansion

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Hospitals in Medicaid expansion states were six times, or about 84 percent, less likely to face hospital closures than their peers in non-expansion states, a new Health Affairs study showed. The...

How Did Providers Respond to Demand After the Affordable Care Act?

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Provider organizations employed additional staff, especially advanced practice clinicians, and expanded facilities and hours in response to increased care demands from more insured patients under the...

Reps Eye Delay for Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital Cuts

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Three House Representatives recently called on their Congressional peers to postpone implementing a rule that would reduce Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments starting on Oct. 1,...

In IRS First, Non-Profit Hospital Loses Status Under ACA Rules

by Jacqueline LaPointe

The IRS recently revoked a rural hospital’s non-profit status for failure to meet new community health needs assessment requirements under the Affordable Care Act. According to an IRS letter...

Medicaid Reimbursement Woes Key Concern for Healthcare CEOs

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Approximately 85 percent of healthcare executives identified shrinking Medicaid reimbursement rates and funding as a top concern in 2017, according to a new Deloitte survey. Deloitte surveyed 20 CEOs...

CMS Details $43B Drop in Medicaid Uncompensated Care Support

by Jacqueline LaPointe

In a recently proposed rule, CMS outlined a methodology for reducing Medicaid support for hospitals incurring significant uncompensated care costs starting in 2018. The rule would implement reductions...

Pediatric Healthcare Costs 35% Less at Community Health Centers

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Pediatric healthcare costs were $1,133 on average among children primarily using community health centers for care versus $1,750 among children seeing other providers, representing a 35 percent...

Execs To Continue Value-Based Purchasing Despite Uncertainty

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Despite a possible Affordable Care Act repeal, healthcare executives still plan to stay the course with value-based purchasing implementation and healthcare cost reduction initiatives, a recent BDC...

Senate Confirms Seema Verma as Next CMS Administrator

by Jacqueline LaPointe

In a 55 to 43 vote yesterday, the Senate confirmed Seema Verma as the next CMS Administrator, according to a New York Times article. Verma, the founder, president, and CEO of a health policy...

52-47 Senate Vote Confirms Tom Price as New HHS Secretary

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Early this morning, the Senate approved Tom Price as the new Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary by a 52 to 47 vote, according to multiple sources. Price, a Republican...

Healthcare Execs Ponder Financial Impact of Possible ACA Repeal

by Jacqueline LaPointe

With a possible full or partial Affordable Care Act repeal in the near future, healthcare executives called for some of the healthcare reform law’s provisions to continue, such as increased...

Hospitals, Health Systems Eye Financial Snags in ACA Repeal

by Kyle Murphy, PhD

In identical letters to the Trump Administration and Congress, the American Hospital Association and other state and regional associations are urging members of both branches of the federal government...

Executive Order Calls for ACA Financial, Marketplace Flexibility

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Just hours after taking office, President Trump signed a broad executive order that intends to minimize the “economic burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” before an...

AHA, FAH: ACA Repeal Could Cost Hospital Revenue Cycle Billions

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Providers could face billions in hospital revenue cycle losses if the Affordable Care Act is repealed without replacement legislation that preserves health coverage increases and rolls back claims...

Slavitt Offers Value-Based Care Steps Post MACRA Implementation

by Jacqueline LaPointe

As CMS gets ready for MACRA implementation in the new year, CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt urged healthcare and political leaders to carry on value-based care progress made under the Affordable...

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