Trump Budget Brings Bad News for Private Safety-Net Hospitals
The FY 2020 federal budget proposed by the Trump administration this week would bring pain for private safety-net hospitals if adopted. Highlights of the proposed spending plan include: More than $135 billion in cuts in Medicare uncompensated care payments (Medicare [...]
MACPAC Meets
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 [...]
MedPAC Meets
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 [...]
Surprise Medical Bills Lead Patients to Change Hospitals
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 [...]
Stark Changes Coming to Facilitate Value Care?
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 [...]
800 Hospitals Face Medicare Penalties
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 [...]
NASH Introduces New Name
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 [...]
Safety-Net Hospitals Struggle in Medicare Joint Replacement Model
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 [...]
Hospital Groups Join NASH in Calling for Delay of Medicaid DSH Cuts
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 [...]
States Taking Different Paths to Pay for Medicaid Expansion
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 [...]
