In a relatively short period for the healthcare industry, several insurers and hospital associations have adopted positions of not paying for certain medical errors; now, with the New York state Medicaid program establishing its own policy, the...
Health systems face rising write-offs for patients who can’t pay their bills, according to results of the latest Modern Healthcare survey, a trend that spells even more trouble for providers as food and fuel prices climb and employment...
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission in its June report to Congress made a series of recommendations to reform Medicare’s payment system and make providers more accountable for the quality of care they provide. The commission made specific...
In a relatively short period for the healthcare industry, several insurers and hospital associations have adopted positions of not paying for certain medical errors; now, with the New York state Medicaid program establishing its own policy, the...
A new survey of infection-control professionals indicates that progress is being made in the fight against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, but also that hospitals could do more.
Following criticism in recent months that the Food and Drug Administration’s oversight of foreign production of medical products and food is lacking, the Bush administration is looking to boost the agency’s funding.
A newly launched federal health information technology study has earned praise in the early going from the provider community, even while raising concerns by some that its payment system will end up benefiting only half of those who participate.
With attacks waged in multiple courts and Congress, sellers of home medical equipment may flip their calendars to July without the long-planned launch of a demonstration project requiring competitive bidding for their participation in Medicare.
Congress’ inability to meet the Bush administration’s June 16 deadline to enact a law that would halt Medicare payment cuts to physicians is likely to cause at least a temporary hit to their reimbursement come July 1.
Most of the quality measures the CMS included in its proposed inpatient prospective payment system hospital rule for fiscal 2009 aren’t yet ready for prime time, provider groups warned in comments to the agency.
A Supreme Court opinion delivered last week offers providers lines of defense against False Claims Act lawsuits, though any solace may be tenuous and short-lived, particularly if Congress responds by fortifying the law.
Six years after a merger of the only two hospitals in Pocatello, Idaho, county-owned 251-bed Portneuf Medical Center remains split between two campuses. Bannock County officials, however, expect to make a decision this month that would pave the way...
The number of underinsured adults nationwide has grown at a “startling” rate over the past four years, researchers said, as the cost of healthcare keeps rising. The individual health insurance market is contributing to the problem, and most states...
Hospitals in Southern California are considering taking legal action to block a Los Angeles ordinance on discharging patients on grounds that it could jeopardize millions in CMS funding.
The Joint Commission’s new set of seven inpatient psychiatric measures is being heralded as both a significant step forward for behavioral health and another data-collection burden.
Who’s ultimately responsible for providing language-assistance programs in healthcare? Is it the medical groups, hospitals and other providers? Or is it the health insurers?
Health systems face rising write-offs for patients who can’t pay their bills, according to results of the latest Modern Healthcare survey, a trend that spells even more trouble for providers as food and fuel prices climb and employment...
The realization seems to be slowly sinking in among the nation’s policymakers that we can’t solve the growing crisis of the uninsured and underinsured without simultaneously and just as seriously addressing the worsening healthcare cost problem. The...
The crisis of the uninsured continues to grip the nation. Politicians, healthcare providers and consumer advocates bring us information on a daily basis of heartbreaking tragedies caused by a lack of coverage. Often left untold is the story of...
Jessica Zigmond’s report on the nonhospital nursing worker shortage was nicely done (“Beyond the hospital,” June 2, p. 26). We need a transformation of our work environments and our nursing education system and we need to stop thinking that cranking...
Within the past decade, healthcare-associated infections have become a critical issue for American hospitals. Consumer groups and the media have elevated these infections to something of a cause celebre—a fact that has created state and federal...
The newly minted presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, spent part of an early morning last week shadowing a nurse in the cardiac-care unit at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, the first part of what his campaign says will be...
