• Market consolidation worse among payers than health systems

    May 2, 2024 - There has been a large focus on how market consolidation among hospitals and health systems, including physician practice acquisitions, affects competition, pricing, and access to care. However, new data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) shows that health payers are actually more consolidated than health systems. The data...

  • CMS sets minimum staffing standards for nursing homes

    April 23, 2024 - A new final rule from CMS establishes minimum staffing standards for nursing homes at a national level for the first time in history. The rule states that nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid must provide residents with a minimum of 3.48 hours of nursing care per day. The new staffing standard includes at least 0.55 hours of care...

  • Portal allows public reporting of anti-competitive behaviors

    April 23, 2024 - A new online portal allows the public to report any anti-competitive behaviors they see in the healthcare sector that may be impacting quality of care and affordability. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Justice Department, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched the portal HealthyCompetition.gov on April 18th to...

  • Nearly 4 of 5 physicians employed by hospitals, corporations

    April 16, 2024 - Widespread consolidation in healthcare is affecting physicians, according to a new report from the Physicians Advocacy Institute (PAI) and Avalere Health. The report analyzed updated data from IQVIA OneKey database which contains physician and practice location information on hospital/health system ownership. The data showed that more than...


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Machine learning algorithm improved risk adjustment models, study finds

A Diagnostic Cost Group (DCG) machine learning algorithm succeeded in generating risk adjustment models and predicted healthcare spending better than the current HHS hierarchical condition category...

Market consolidation worse among payers than health systems

There has been a large focus on how market consolidation among hospitals and health systems, including physician practice acquisitions, affects competition, pricing, and access to care. However, new...

Breaking down the new CMS proposed bundled payment model: TEAM

CMS has proposed a new mandatory bundled payment model to test if episode-based payments for select surgical procedures would lower Medicare spending and improve care quality. The Transforming Episode...

Study: Lax antitrust enforcement boosting hospital prices

A recent study in the journal American Economic Review: Insights found that lax antitrust enforcement contributed to less competition and higher prices for hospital care. The study, conducted by...

CMS sets minimum staffing standards for nursing homes

A new final rule from CMS establishes minimum staffing standards for nursing homes at a national level for the first time in history. The rule states that nursing homes participating in Medicare and...

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