Healthcare Spending

Specialty Pharmacies Offered Lower Drug Prices Than Hospitals

by Victoria Bailey

Hospitals and physician offices charged patients significantly higher amounts for drugs than specialty pharmacies did, according to a study from AHIP. Rising drug prices have contributed to high...

Cost of Ground Ambulance Services Saw 22% Increase Since 2017

by Victoria Bailey

The cost of emergency ground ambulance services increased by 22 percent from 2017 to 2020, giving advanced life support ambulance rides a price tag of more than $1,200, according to a white paper from...

Hartford HealthCare Faces Antitrust Lawsuit, Monopoly Allegations

by Victoria Bailey

Six Connecticut residents have filed a healthcare antitrust lawsuit against Hartford HealthCare (HHC), alleging that the health system used unlawful and anticompetitive methods to charge payers and...

Remote Work Propels Electronic Claims Management Adoption

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Electronic claims management adoption increased in 2020 as healthcare providers shifted to remote work environments when possible, but they are still leaving billions of dollars on the table in...

White House Urged to Look into Price Gouging by Nurse Staffing Agencies

by Sarai Rodriguez

A bipartisan group of 195 Congress members wrote to the White House COVID-19 Response Team Coordinator Jeffrey Zient requesting an investigation into reports of alleged price gouging by nurse...

$2B in Provider Relief Fund Payments Heading to Providers

by Jacqueline LaPointe

HHS, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is doling out another $2 billion in Provider Relief Fund payments to healthcare providers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. More...

Investor-Owned Health Systems Linked to Most Low-Value Care

by Sarai Rodriguez

Overuse of low-value services was most often seen in healthcare systems that had more beds, had fewer primary care physicians, had more physician practice groups, and were...

Large Hospital Mergers Signal New Phase of Healthcare Deals

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Hospital mergers and acquisitions were down in 2021 as industry leaders faced another year battling the COVID-19 pandemic, new research from Kaufman Hall shows. There were 49 transactions announced by...

COVID-19 Tests Spike Growth in Medicare Spending

by Sarai Rodriguez

COVID-19 tests spiked growth in Medicare spending in 2020. Meanwhile, spending for non-COVID-19 lab tests experienced a decline, according to a report from the HHS Office of the Inspector...

IU Health Holds Pricing Flat Amid Hospital Price Transparency Push

by Jacqueline LaPointe

As state lawmakers aim to advance hospital price transparency in Indiana, the state’s largest hospital system is putting a hold on pricing increases. At an annual public forum on hospital price...

Multiple Hospital Affiliations Linked to Greater Medical and Drug Cost

by Sarai Rodriguez

According to a JAMA Network Open study, clinicians with multiple hospital affiliations were associated with increased medical cost, clinician service use, and greater procedure breadth. To conduct the...

In-Network, Complex COVID-19 Hospitalizations Cost More Than $128K

by Sarai Rodriguez

According to a new FAIR Health study, COVID-19 hospitalization cost varies by state, with complex hospitalizations for COVID-19 in-network average cost maxing out at $128,650.  “Behind the...

HHS Distributes Another $9B from Provider Relief Fund

by Sarai Rodriguez

HHS announced the distribution of approximately $9 billion in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 payments to reimburse healthcare providers who experienced pandemic-related revenue losses and...

Urgent Care Utilization Pivots to Testing, Immunization

by Sarai Rodriguez

According to an Epic research study, urgent care utilization has increased since the beginning of the pandemic, but visits have shifted to provide more testing and immunization and less non-COVID...

US Healthcare Spending Tops $4.1T Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

by Jacqueline LaPointe

The COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on US healthcare spending in 2020, according to a report recently released by the CMS Office of the Actuary. The “2020 National Health Expenditures...

Study Identifies Major Issue with Hospital Price Transparency Rule

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Pricing information publicly disclosed by CMS’ hospital price transparency rule falls short of informing consumers of their charges for many common hospital-based services, a new study published...

Study Finds Low-Value Services Increases Risk for Direct Harm

by Sarai Rodriguez

A study analyzing Choosing Wisely recommendations found that nearly 50 percent of identified low-value services may cause direct potential harm. Published in JAMA Network, researchers...

COVID-19 Associated with $13.9B Decline in Medicare Spending

by Sarai Rodriguez

According to a new American Medical Association (AMA) report, utilization of physician services in 2020 declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a less than expected decline of $13.9 billion in...

Hospital Groups Want Congress to Delay 2% Medicare Sequester Cuts

by Sarai Rodriguez

UPDATE 12/03/2021: Congress passed a continuing resolution Thursday night, averting a government shutdown. However, it did not address pending cuts to Medicare reimbursement for hospitals and...

Administration Invests $1.5B to Address Healthcare Workforce Shortage

by Sarai Rodriguez

Vice President Harris announced a $1.5 billion investment to respond to healthcare workforce shortages and improve critical clinical care in underserved communities impacted by the COVID-19...