Hospitals and physicians say they’re still unclear about what types of dealmaking raise the hackles of the federal government’s antitrust watchdogs. Lawyers and academics disagree whether everyone genuinely paying attention should know the...
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission in its June report to Congress outlined options for bringing Medicare Advantage payment levels more in line with those of traditional Medicare fee-for-service expenditures. The current Medicare Advantage...
The Internal Revenue Service last week moved to sharply expand public reporting of what not-for-profit hospitals do for their communities to justify federal tax breaks.
Recently released Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommendations to the CMS to refine its new inpatient hospital payment system don’t go far enough in limiting proposed payment reductions to the industry, major hospital associations argued...
The U.S. Supreme Court last week upheld a Labor Department rule that exempts home-care workers from federal minimum-wage and overtime standards. But the Service Employees International Union, which backed the plaintiff in the case, vowed to pursue...
Among the resolutions on the agenda for the American Medical Association House of Delegates, which is scheduled to meet June 23-27 in Chicago, is a proposal to try to limit the influence of the National Quality Forum.
The unveiling of the federal government’s plan to privatize an HHS panel charged with managing the industry’s shift into electronic records invited harsh criticism from a key member of Congress, Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.).
A decade-long effort by quality improvement organizations, or QIOs, to transform themselves from punitive to preventive organizations may have worked too well, leaving gaps in their oversight, a new report from HHS’ inspector general’s office has...
Managed care co-opted the protected space of providers last week when health IT company Ingenix announced that it had acquired the Lewin Group, a national healthcare and human services consulting firm.
A proposal from a large employers’ group to institute universal coverage for retirement and health security benefits has some experts wondering if it’s a ploy to allow employers to rid themselves of the responsibility of providing benefits.
Three associations for pharmaceutical marketing and communications professionals—each representing a different region of the country—have merged to form the Healthcare Communication & Marketing Association in a move said to combine “the strengths...
The issue of parity in behavioral health coverage continues to vex the American healthcare system, new studies show, but a growing consensus on Capitol Hill and even among payers and healthcare buyers indicates that change might finally be on the...
Hospitals and physicians say they’re still unclear about what types of dealmaking raise the hackles of the federal government’s antitrust watchdogs. Lawyers and academics disagree whether everyone genuinely paying attention should know the...
RENSSELAER, N.Y.—Federal reimbursement favors insurance companies over hospitals and health systems, according to a new report released by the Healthcare Association of New York State. According to the report, Falling Behind: Medicare...
KERNERSVILLE, N.C.—High Point (N.C.) Regional Health System agreed to drop its opposition to Novant Health’s proposal to build a 50-bed hospital in Kernersville, Novant said. North Carolina regulators denied Novant’s application last year.
CINCINNATI—A judge in Hamilton County, Ohio, mapped out how three hospitals will be cut loose from the six-hospital Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati.
STOW, Ohio—Akron (Ohio) General Health System has opened a health and wellness center in Stow, a suburb about 10 miles northeast of Akron General Medical Center. The $32 million project, financed with tax-exempt bonds, offers three pools,...
AURORA, Colo.—Last week, the 455-bed University of Colorado Hospital moved some 150 patients and about 8,100 pieces of equipment from its 42-year-old Denver location to its new Anschutz Medical Campus six miles away in Aurora. The transition...
One of the most perplexing questions in healthcare is whether quality of care is a national movement, exists only in silos of excellence or merely amounts to good public relations. Despite a multitude of quality organizations, demonstration projects...
Our society is growing older by the day, and the number of aging adults will soon reach an all-time high. By 2030, about 20% of Americans will be 65 or older, up from the current 12%, the Census Bureau reported last year. In the not-too-distant...
I was chagrined at the unchallenged assertion by Scott Clark, the vice president and general counsel of National Surgical Hospitals, that “If the issue at hand truly is one of conflict of interest, conflicts of interests are pervasive in the...
I peruse a number of magazines and newspapers every day to get a feel about what’s going on in the world. Oftentimes, however, the most interesting things I read are not necessarily on the front page of a newspaper or in the first half of a...
Robert Erra was named president of Clark Consulting’s Healthcare Group, Minneapolis, effective July 1. The group’s current president, F. Kenneth Ackerman Jr., was named chairman. Erra, 64, has been president of the Management Science...
