Author's posts
U.S. hospitals pay as much as 6 times more for medical devices than European counterparts, study shows
Prices for devices varied within each country studied as well, except for France where prices stayed largely uniform for all devices.
Humana and Heritage Provider Network expand in-network Medicare Advantage coverage
The value-based agreement will reimburse physicians based on patient outcomes.
CMS to boost oversight of accreditation organizations through posting of performance data
CMS will now post new performance information on their website, including quality-of-care deficiency findings, and will refine the process for gauging an AOs ability to assess compliance.
Readmission likelihood increases 2.9 percent each day in rural Appalachia hospitals
Financial penalties for readmissions are mandated by the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program, a part of the Affordable Care Act.
Hospitals and physician groups take on risk in BPCI Advanced model
Voluntary bundled payment model is tied to performance and also qualifies as an APM for MACRA.
Hospitals and health systems should develop strong relationships with urgent and retail clinics
Health data needs to be interoperable for the relationship between health systems and clinics to bridge the consumerism gap.
CMS proposes additional rule to address risk adjustment
The 2018 benefit year will now determine risk adjustment payments to insurers, using the statewide average premium.
Hospices get 1.8 percent payment increase for 2019
Hospices that fail to meet quality reporting requirements receive a 2 percent reduction to their payments.
Trump Administration extends short-term plans to three years in final rule
Some stakeholders say short-term plans will destabilize ACA market, but these plans are not expected to divert consumers already enrolled, HHS officials say
CMS proposes site neutral payment rule that would lower healthcare costs for patients
Final rule would also expand drug pricing competition to drive down costs and eliminate controversial questions regarding opioids from the hospital patient experience survey.
