There’s More to Quality Than Readmissions, Study Suggests
Hospitals with high readmissions rates may also have lower mortality rates for some conditions, according to a new study. The study, published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, found that patients suffering from heart failure, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [...]
NAUH Comments on Proposed Medicare Site-Neutral Outpatient Payment Changes
The National Association of Urban Hospitals has submitted extensive comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on the agency’s proposal to implement site-neutral payment policies for Medicare-covered outpatient services. In its comments, NAUH raises objections to: how the [...]
Journal Looks at Health Disparities
The journal Health Affairs looks at health disparities and social determinants of health in its August 2016 issue. The article “Evaluating Strategies For Reducing Health Disparities By Addressing The Social Determinants Of Health” looks at interventions that focus on social [...]
NIH Launches Research on Health Disparities in Disadvantaged Communities
The National Institutes of Health is launching a new Transdisciplinary Collaboratives Centers for Health Disparities Research on Chronic Disease Prevention program that seeks to respond to ...the need for more robust, ecological approaches to address chronic diseases among racial and [...]
Who’s Still Uninsured?
Hispanics. Young people between the ages of 19 and 34. Men. Low-income people, especially those living in states that have not expanded their Medicaid programs. People in the South – again, especially those living in states that have not expanded [...]
Medicare Continues to Grapple With Socio-Economic Risk Adjustment
The question of whether Medicare should consider the socio-economic status of the patients hospitals serve when it judges the effectiveness and quality of care hospitals provide continues to stir discussion and debate in the health care community. The issue arose [...]
CMS Proposes Medicaid DSH Rule
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed a new rule that would clarify the basis for eligible hospitals’ Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments (Medicaid DSH). Individual hospitals’ Medicaid DSH payments are based on their uncompensated care costs and [...]
Docs Less Likely to Participate in ACOs in Disadvantaged Communities
A new study has found that physicians who practice in areas with higher proportions of low-income, uninsured, less-educated, disabled, and African-American residents are less likely than others to participate in accountable care organizations. If ACOs ultimately are found to improve [...]
Medicare Readmissions Penalties Rise
Medicare will impose more than $500 million in penalties in FY 2017 on hospitals that readmit too many Medicare patients within 30 days of their discharge from the hospital. The penalties, part of Medicare’s hospital readmissions reduction program, represent a [...]
CMS Urges Improvements in Care for Physically, Mentally Disabled
New guidance issued by the Centers for Medicaid Services outlines how states can make better use of home care in serving physically and mentally disabled Medicaid beneficiaries. Those steps include establishing open registries of home care workers; establishing qualifications for [...]
