Category: Healthcare Finance News

Revenue cycles challenged by mandates of No Surprises Act

The No Surprises Act has reportedly done its job in preventing an estimated 9 million surprise medical bills since going into effect at the start of this year, but for providers, the law has created a revenue cycle and regulatory quagmire.
Payment rate…

Percent of Texas hospitals at serious risk of closure has nearly doubled since 2020

Nearly one out of every 10 Texas hospitals is at serious risk of closure, and nearly half of all Texas hospitals are facing negative operating margins this year, according to a new report released this week from Kaufman Hall.
The culprit: COVID-19.

Half of hospitals will operate in the red this years, report says

Hospitals are nearing the end of the year with negative margins, with expenses, staff shortages, and fewer patient discharges driving poor performance, according to the latest National Hospital Flash Report from Kaufman Hall.
 
Median operating margins…

Texas Medical Association files another lawsuit against No Surprises Act

The Texas Medical Association has filed its third lawsuit against the No Surprises Act. 

Optum Labs funds opening of digital health research center at Cornell

Optum Labs, the research and development arm of UnitedHealth Group, and Cornell Tech have created a collaborative research hub at Cornell University in New York, which will focus on precision behavioral health and advancing equity in healthcare.
The mo…

Humana closing most SeniorBridge locations to focus on Medicare Advantage plans

Humana has made a decision to close most of its home health SeniorBridge services and concentrate on its Medicare Advantage plans.
A company spokesman said the facilities are being closed, and not sold.

HHS proposes rule for substance use treatment information sharing and protection 

A proposed rule would align HIPAA privacy regulations for the treatment of substance use disorder to other requirements under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. 

ACA-linked readmission rate improvements misleading

Hospital readmission rates began to improve upon implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, but a new JAMA Network Open analysis has found that the readmission gains due to the HRRP were smaller than originally…

Top reason for delaying care is now cost, not COVID-19, patients say

The end of the pandemic doesn’t mean the end of deferred care, according to Cleveland Clinic physician and Qualtrics Chief Medical Officer Dr. Adrienne Boissy.
After two years of forgoing healthcare due to pandemic-related concerns, inflation is at an …

Millions in Medicare Advantage overcharges revealed in audits

Federal audits released last week show widespread overcharges and other errors in payments to Medicare Advantage health plans for seniors, with some plans overbilling the government more than $1,000 per patient a year on average, according to Kaiser He…