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California hospitals sue attorney general over affiliation conditions
Two California hospitals, Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai and Pasadena-based Huntington Hospital, have filed a lawsuit challenging the conditions for approval of their affiliation that were imposed by the state attorney general. The proposed affiliation…
COVID-19 ratcheting up demand for virtual behavioral healthcare, Cigna finds
The COVID-19 pandemic is increasing the demand for telehealth, driving consumers to increasingly seek virtual care options, and this is extending to behavioral health services, according to a new report from health insurer Cigna.
DOJ investigating UnitedHealth’s $13B acquisition of Change
The U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing an investigation of UnitedHealthcare Group’s $13 billion acquisition of data analytics company Change Healthcare, spurred in part by a letter sent to regulators this month by the American Hospital Association …
CMS resuming routine hospital surveys after delays
Late last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services lifted a suspension on hospital surveys and said most on-site survey activity will now resume as normal.
American Hospital Association urges CMS to rescind mid-build denials
The American Hospital Association is imploring the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to rescind recent denials of hospital requests for a mid-build exception to the site-neutral payment policy, according to a letter sent last week.
American Rescue Plan will be credit positive for nonprofit hospitals, says Fitch
The American Rescue Plan contains a number of measures that would subtly improve the revenue profile and reduce cost pressures for nonprofit hospitals, according to Fitch Ratings.
AHIP submits testimony for Senate hearing on COVID-19 and improving health equity
This week, America’s Health Insurance Plans submitted testimony to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee for a hearing focused on improving health equity and outcomes by addressing health disparities during the COVID-19 response.
athenahealth attempts to tackle physician burnout through medical coding
Provider burnout is a persistent problem in healthcare, and has only been made worse by the added pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. To address this, software and services company athenahealth has rolled out its new Medical Coding solution that aims t…
Negative operating margins likely to haunt 39% of hospitals in 2021
With scores of Americans getting vaccinated by the day, hospitals are slowly allowing themselves to feel optimistic about their financial recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. But even in the best case scenario, 39% of hospitais will likely have negativ…
Electronic prior authorizations reduce burden, time spent, finds AHIP and RTI
Handling prior authorization requests electronically as opposed to manually can reduce the median time between submitting a PA request and receiving a decision — clocking in at around three times faster for a time reduction of about 69%, according to …
