Why All the Fuss About the IPAB?
Ever since it was established in the Affordable Care Act, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) has been a magnet for criticism on both sides of the political aisle in Washington. Created to do what Congress is always reluctant to [...]
IRS Finalizes Standards for Non-Profit Hospitals
The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance for non-profit hospitals on selected issues that could jeopardize their non-profit status. As described in a commentary by the U.S. Treasury Department, non-profit hospitals must: Limit charges. Hospitals may not charge individuals eligible [...]
Low-Income Patients Struggle With Diabetes Management
Low-income diabetics are more likely than others to struggle to manage their condition – even if they have health insurance. According to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, “Increasing access to care may be insufficient to improve the [...]
New NAUH Member
The National Association of Urban Hospitals is pleased to welcome its newest member: Methodist Hospitals of Gary, Indiana. Welcome!
Medicaid Pay Bump Gone in Most States; Will it Affect Access?
The temporary increase in Medicaid provider fees for primary care services ended yesterday, leaving observers to wonder whether it will affect access to care for the nation’s growing Medicaid population. The increase, mandated by the Affordable Care Act, raised Medicaid [...]
Access to Medicaid Services
A commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine by noted Medicaid expert and advocate Sara Rosenbaum examines the issues of access to Medicaid services, the effect of adequate (or inadequate) Medicaid reimbursement on that access, and the role the [...]
MedPAC Moves Toward Recommending Site-Neutral Payments for Rehab Services
The independent agency that advises Congress on Medicare payment issues is likely to recommend that Congress require Medicare to implement site-neutral payments for some rehabilitation services. During last week’s meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), members received a [...]
Medicaid Primary Care Fees to Plummet
Payments to primary care physicians who serve Medicaid patients will fall an average of 42.8 percent beginning next year when the Affordable Care Act’s two-year increase in those payments ends. In some states – California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New [...]
Unemployment Plays Major Role in Hospital Readmissions
A new study has found that employment status is the leading socioeconomic indicator of hospital readmissions for patients who have suffered heart attacks, heart failure, and pneumonia. Using 2011 and 2012 data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, [...]
Access to Primary Care a Medicaid Problem, HHS OIG Says
Many of the primary care providers that participate in Medicaid managed care programs are inaccessible to those plans’ members, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General (OIG). As [...]
