Revenue Cycle Management Healthcare News

CMS Proposes Payment Cuts in CY24 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

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CMS has proposed payment cuts in its calendar year (CY) 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), including a 3.34 percent decrease to the conversion factor that would reduce payment rates by 1.25...

OPPS Rule to Update Outpatient Payments, Hospital Price Transparency

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CMS proposes in the Outpatient Prospective Payment (OPPS) rule to increase Medicare outpatient payments by 2.8 percent next year while bolstering hospital price transparency enforcement. The OPPS rule...

HHS Investigates Medical Credit Cards, Installment Loans

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Several federal departments, including HHS, recently announced an inquiry into medical credit cards and installment loans after research suggests that these patient payment options drive up healthcare...

Medical Debt Unevenly Impacts People of Color, Low-Income Residents in NY

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Medical debt in New York State varied widely by geography in 2022, with debt more common among communities of color and those with low incomes, highlighting disparities. The Urban Institute report...

Private Equity Acquisitions Led to Higher Prices at Physician Practices

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Private equity acquisitions of physician practices are becoming more common, leading to price increases ranging from 4 percent to 16 percent, data from the American Antitrust Institute (AAI)...

CMS to Resolve 340B Payment Mixup With $9B Lump-Sum Fix

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CMS has proposed to pay $9 billion to hospitals impacted by payment cuts to the 340B Drug Pricing Program between 2018 and 2022. The proposal is CMS’ remedy to cutting 340B payments from the...

Median Per Person Healthcare Spending Exceeds $6K

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Healthcare spending is still on the rise, with median costs per person increasing to over $6,000 in 2021, according to a new analysis from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI). Median per person...

MGMA: Nursing Compensation Increases as Staffing Challenges Continue

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Compensation increased for all nursing positions in 2022 as staffing challenges push medical groups to focus on recruitment and retention, a report from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA)...

Hospitals with Health Equity Factors Face Value-Based Penalties

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Hospitals with more medically complex patients, uncompensated care, and patients who live alone are more likely to receive a penalty under CMS value-based payment programs, according to a new study...

FTC Proposes Merger Review Changes that Could Impact Healthcare Deals

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) have proposed changes to the premerger review process to allow more effective screenings of healthcare deals for competition...

CMS Proposes $375M Cut to Medicare Home Health Payments

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CMS has released the calendar year (CY) 2024 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) Rate Update proposed rule, which includes a 2.2 percent, or $375 million, cut to Medicare home health...

Primary Care Compensation Growth Surpassed Other Specialties in 2022

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Primary care compensation and productivity grew at faster rates than other specialties in 2022, a survey from the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) found. AMGA’s 36th annual Medical...

Hospital Finances Stabilized as Revenues Grew, Expenses Fell

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Hospital finances stabilized in May as operating margins remained positive, revenues increased, and expenses fell, a report from Kaufman Hall shared. The latest report reflects hospital performances...

How Beneficiary Preferences Can Impact Hospital VBP Payment Incentives

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If the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) program value weights were based on Medicare beneficiary preferences, nearly $86 million in payment incentives would be reallocated and smaller rural...

CMS Proposes 1.6% Payment Increase for ESRD Facilities

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CMS has released a proposed rule for the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for renal dialysis services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries on or after January 1, 2024. The...

Negotiated and Cash Prices are Lower at Physician-Owned Hospitals

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Commercial negotiated prices and cash prices for common hospital procedures were lower at physician-owned hospitals compared to facilities not owned by physicians in the same region, a study published...

Optum to Acquire Home Health, Hospice Provider Amedisys

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Amedisys has announced that it plans to combine with Optum to advance value-based care for its patients. The announcement ends the bidding war that ensued this month when Optum made a surprise...

Interest Rates, Recession Fears Aren’t Stopping Healthcare Deals

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So far this year, healthcare deal volumes have remained resilient despite several headwinds, including higher interest rates, greater antitrust scrutiny, elevated valuations, and general recessionary...