News

Steward Health Care Faces Financial Troubles, Possible Closures

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Steward Health Care, a for-profit health system headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is facing grave financial troubles, which may create ripples across the country. The Boston Globe reported on Jan. 19th...

Financial Distress Drove 2023 Merger and Acquisition Activity

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Healthcare merger and acquisition activity increased in 2023, with many transactions driven by financial distress, a Kaufman Hall report revealed. In 2022, merger and acquisition activity rebounded...

Provider Groups Say Final Rule Will Relieve Prior Authorization Burdens

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Provider groups are commending CMS for finalizing patient data-sharing policies and prior authorization requirements. The CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule requires Medicare...

New Medicaid Payment Model Targets Behavioral Health Integration

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CMS has announced a new Medicaid payment model that will incent care coordination across physical, behavioral, and social providers to improve the quality of care Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries...

Healthcare Consumers Want Hospital Price Transparency, Survey Finds

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Healthcare consumers support price transparency, with many wanting hospitals to publish actual prices in advance, not estimates, according to a survey from PatientRightsAdvocate.org. The survey,...

Hospital Finances Show Signs of Recovery as Revenues Rise

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Hospital finances are showing signs of recovery as margins continue to be positive and revenues are up from prior years, according to data from Kaufman Hall. The National Hospital Flash Report...

Primary Care Model Did Not Reduce Healthcare Spending or Improve Care

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The CMS Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) model was not associated with reduced healthcare expenditures or care quality improvements, a study published in JAMA found. CMS launched the five-year...

Does Medicare Value-Based Purchasing Exacerbate Racial Care Disparities?

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Thirty-day mortality rates were higher for acute myocardial infarction and pneumonia at hospitals with higher shares of Black patients, suggesting that Medicare’s Hospital Value-Based...

Medical Billing Quality Lacking According to Leapfrog Measures

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Most hospitals do not have high medical billing quality, including patient access to a qualified billing representative and timely itemized billing statements. A recent study published in JAMA...

Hospital Costs for Inpatient COVID-19 Treatment Rose 26% During Pandemic

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The costs of providing inpatient COVID-19 treatment increased by 26 percent over the first two years of the pandemic, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Through the end of 2022,...

Private Equity Acquisition Tied to More Hospital-Acquired Conditions

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Private equity acquisition of hospitals was associated with an increase in hospital-acquired conditions, including falls and central line-associated bloodstream infections, a study published in JAMA...

NY Healthcare Orgs Collab to Deliver Value-Based Hospice, Palliative Care

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Bassett Healthcare Network, a New York-based health system, has partnered with Helios Care to provide patients with value-based hospice and palliative care. Patients in five counties across Central...

Pros, Cons of End-to-End RCM Platform Adoption

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In the pursuit of an end-to-end revenue cycle management (RCM) platform, some providers have adopted technology from a single vendor. While there are several advantages of working with one vendor, a...

74% of Hospitals Use Some Revenue Cycle Automation

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Hospitals and health systems are increasingly using revenue cycle automation to streamline operations and improve efficiency. A recent survey of over 450 CFOs and revenue cycle leaders at US hospitals...

Understanding the Basics of Bundled Payments in Healthcare

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The shift to value-based care has driven public and private payers to redesign reimbursement models that stress accountability for care quality and healthcare costs. As the fee-for-service environment...

Medical Groups Faced High Expenses, Staffing Challenges in 2023

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Medical groups had a rocky 2023 as expenses outpaced revenue and staffing shortages continued, a survey from the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) revealed. The 2023 AMGA Medical Group...

Feds Finalizes $115 Participation, Other Fees for IDR Process

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The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury (the Departments) have updated the amount each party must pay to resolve surprise medical bills through the federal independent...

32% of Academic Physicians Plan to Leave Workforce, Fueled by Burnout

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One-third of academic physicians have at least a moderate intention to leave their facility in the next two years, driven by burnout and a lack of professional fulfillment, a study published in JAMA...

NC Attorney General Sues HCA After Quality of Care Complaints

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North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is suing HCA Healthcare for failing to comply with an asset purchase agreement it executed when it purchased Mission Health System in 2019. The case alleges...

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