Revenue Cycle Management Healthcare News

HHS Releases Ownership Data on All Medicare-Certified Hospitals

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HHS is releasing ownership data on all Medicare-certified hospitals in a bid to promote competition in a highly consolidated industry. “At President Biden’s direction, this Administration...

Congress to Halve Medicare Payment Cuts Via Year-End Spending Package

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Lawmakers unveiled the $1.7 trillion year-end spending package early this morning, which is expected to avert a government shutdown by Friday if both chambers can pass the measure this week. The...

KLAS: athenahealth, NextGen Lead in Practice Management Success

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Practice management vendors athenahealth, NextGen Healthcare, and Epic ranked highest for overall satisfaction and consumer experience among healthcare practices, a KLAS report found. KLAS interviewed...

Ascension to NYT: We Are Committed to Nurse Workforce Culture

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Ascension is fighting back after a New York Times report alleged that the nonprofit health system created its own nurse workforce challenges by downsizing in order to improve profitability. “Any...

Medical Bills Are Confusing for Nearly 40% of Adults, Survey Finds

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Almost 40 percent of Americans are confused by their medical bills, with many feeling uncertain about what they are being billed for or if they will be able to pay, according to a survey conducted by...

Bipartisan Bill Calls for Extended Value-Based Payment Incentives

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US Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have introduced a bipartisan bill that would extend value-based payment incentives for healthcare providers participating in...

National Healthcare Spending Grows 2.7% as COVID-19 Relief Runs Dry

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National healthcare spending is slowing down in the US compared to a significant 10.3 percent increase in 2020. However, healthcare costs remain high as US health expenditures reach $4.3...

Experts Predict Strong Merger and Acquisition Activity for 2023

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Experts are predicting that the healthcare industry will see substantial merger and acquisition activity in 2023, despite most sectors facing headwinds in 2022, according to data from PwC. PwC’s...

Study: Safety-Net Hospitals Miss Out on Some Medicaid DSH Payments

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Over a third of Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments may have been misallocated, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and University of Pennsylvania investigators. The...

Lawmakers Ask CMS to Inspect ACO REACH Model to Prevent Fraud, Abuse

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A group of lawmakers, spearheaded by US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), has asked CMS to examine the ACO REACH model to prevent organizations with a...

Providers Leaving No Stone Unturned to Stop Medicare Payment Cuts

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Healthcare industry groups representing over 1 million physicians and other clinicians have joined together to urge Congress to prevent a 4.5 percent Medicare payment cut starting Jan. 1,...

AHA: Delayed Discharges Led to 19% Increase in Patient Length of Stay

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The average patient length of stay in hospitals has increased by 19.2 percent in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to an issue brief from the American Hospital Association...

Providers, Payers In Ongoing “Tug-of-War” Over ED Coding, Study Says

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There has been a significant increase in high-intensity billing for emergency care services over the last decade, according to a new study published in Health Affairs. The observational study of US...

OIG: Labs Billed Medicare Part B for High Levels of Diagnostic Tests

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More than 370 labs submitted Medicare Part B claims that included questionably high billing for COVID-19 and additional diagnostic tests, a report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG)...

Payment Rate Policies Contributed to Lower Medicare Spending Growth

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Changes in Medicare payment policies and varying beneficiary characteristics drove the reduction in Medicare spending growth over the last decade, according to a study published in JAMA Health...

CJR Model Policy Changes Boosted Penalties for Safety-Net Hospitals

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Safety-net hospitals and hospitals with high Black and Hispanic populations received disproportionate penalties under the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) bundled payment model between...

For-Profit Health System Operating Margins Exceed Pre-Pandemic Figures

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Even as most hospitals are facing financial instability in 2022, operating margins for the country’s three largest for-profit health systems have met or exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to...

HHS Gives Providers More Time for Good Faith Estimate Compliance

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HHS has extended enforcement discretion for the delivery of some good faith estimates (GFEs) under the No Surprises Act, according to new guidance. The guidance released by HHS on Friday says that CMS...

Atrium Joins Advocate Aurora in Hospital Mega-Merger Deal

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Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health have finalized a hospital mega-merger, creating a 67-hospital system across parts of the South and Midwest. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Atrium announced on...

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