This author has yet to write their bio.Meanwhile lets just say that we are proud Joseph Steinbock contributed a whooping 478 entries.
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met for two days last week in Washington, D.C. The following is MACPAC’s own summary of the sessions. MACPAC looked ahead to its June 2019 report to Congress on the initial day of the March 2019 Commission meeting. In the morning, sessions focused on potential recommendations to […]
Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues. Among the issues on MedPAC’s March agenda were: options for slowing the growth of Medicare fee-for-service spending for emergency department service Medicare’s role in the supply of primary care physicians evaluating an episode-based payment system for […]
Patients who receive surprise medical bills are more likely to change hospitals than those who do not, a new study has found. According to an analysis of behavior by obstetrics patients, …11 percent of mothers experienced a surprise out-of-network bill with their first delivery, and this was associated with an increase of 13 percent in the odds […]
At a Washington, D.C. conference, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma announced that changes coming in Stark law requirements will enable Medicare to make better use of value-based purchasing in its reimbursement system. In addition to addressing cybersecurity and electronic health record system issues, changes in the anti-self-referral law will seek to […]
800 hospitals will see their Medicare payments reduced one percent this year because they are among the 25 percent of hospitals in the U.S. with the highest rate of hospital-acquired conditions. Among the 800 hospitals are 110 that are being penalized for the fifth year in a row. Medicare’s hospital-acquired condition reduction program tracks a […]
In a news release issued earlier this week, the National Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals introduced its new name. The news release also outlines the reasons for the group’s evolution from the National Association of Urban Critical Access Hospitals to the National Association of Urban Hospitals to the National Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals, defines what constitutes […]
Non-safety-net hospitals are outperforming safety-net hospitals in the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement model introduced in 2016. According to a new study published in Health Affairs, …in comparison to non-safety-net hospitals, 42 percent fewer safety-net hospitals qualified for rewards based on their quality and spending performance (33 percent of safety-net hospitals qualified, compared to 57 percent of non-safety-net […]
Seven hospital trade groups have written to congressional leaders asking them to delay Affordable Care Act-mandated cuts in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments (Medicaid DSH) that are scheduled to take effect in October of this year. Their letter echoes a long-time advocacy priority of the National Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals. In their letter the groups, […]
With the federal share of Medicaid expansion falling to 90 percent next year, states that expanded their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act are now exploring new ways to raise the money to pay for the 10 percent for which they will soon by responsible. Some are implementing hospital or insurer taxes while others […]
Hospitals and health systems spent $99.7 million lobbying in Washington, D.C. last year, just barely more than in 2017 but much less than in 2009, when the focus of health care lobbying was the Affordable Care Act, then just a proposal and not a law. The issues on which they spent the most money lobbying […]