Safety-Net Hospitals Have Higher Readmission Rates for Cancer Surgery Patients
Patients who have cancer surgery at safety-net hospitals are more likely to require readmission to the hospital than similar patients at other hospitals, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Managed Care. A review of more [...]
HHS Issues Report on Changes in Care in Urban, Rural Areas
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation has issued a new report titled Impact of the Affordable Care Act Coverage Expansion on Rural and Urban Populations. The report looks at changes [...]
MedPAC Urges Socio-Economic Risk Adjustment of Readmissions Reduction Program
The independent agency that advises Congress on Medicare payment issues has urged the administration to revise the Medicare hospital readmissions reduction program to adjust for the socio-economic status of the patients different hospitals serve. In a May 31 letter to [...]
Fewer People Skipping Care for Financial Reasons
Fewer Americans are choosing not to pursue medical care for financial reasons, according to new information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey, 4.5 percent of the people surveyed reported not [...]
Homeless Health Care Costs Driven More by Hospital Stays Than ER Visits
Extended hospital stays and not frequent visits to hospital emergency rooms constitute the greatest cost in caring for homeless Medicaid patients, a new analysis has found. A review of 1100 homeless people served by the Boston Health Care for the [...]
A Look at Alternative Medicaid Expansion
While most states expanding their Medicaid programs in response to the opportunity presented by the Affordable Care Act simply expand their existing Medicaid programs, six states have taken a different approach, obtaining Medicaid demonstration waivers so they could tailor their [...]
Are States Gaming New Medicaid Requirement?
Some doctors think so. In a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, and American Osteopathic Association suggest that two states have drastically cut their Medicaid [...]
New Report Highlights Benefits of 340B Program
A new report describes how the federal government’s 340B Drug Pricing Program works, how it serves low-income participants, what might happen if the program were curtailed, and why the program remains as important as ever despite the declining number of [...]
Bill Proposes Modifying Ban on Higher Medicare Outpatient Payments
A new bill introduced in the House Ways and Means Committee would limit a recent prohibition on establishing new off-campus hospital outpatient facilities that can receive hospital-based Medicare outpatient payments. Under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, new off-campus, hospital-based [...]
Bill Proposes Risk-Adjusting Medicare Readmissions Program
A new bill introduced in the House Ways and Means Committee would apply risk adjustment for socio-economic factors to Medicare’s hospital readmissions reduction program. According to a committee summary of the bill, The Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of [...]
