Reimbursement news and information

While recent research showed small, rural hospitals registered worse mortality outcomes than their larger urban and suburban counterparts, they fare no worse than their larger counterparts on mortality following common, low-risk surgical procedures, such as appendectomy and knee replacement.
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As the care delivery models of hospitals and health systems evolve, healthcare executives and managers predict a major shift in admissions from inpatient to outpatient settings.
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In its newly released proposed inpatient hospital payment rule for 2014, the CMS plans a slew of performance-based payment changes, including a penalty program for hospital-acquired conditions and updates to the agency's readmissions reduction program that would expand the parameters for...
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Members of Congress went home just in time for hospital executives to arrive in Washington for the American Hospital Association's annual membership meeting this week.
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The Texas Legislature has been balancing the state's budget by intentionally paying doctors 40 to 75 percent less for Medicaid patients than what private insurers pay for the same treatment. Doctors generally plan to do some charity work, but more and more physicians are reaching their limit,...
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U.S. House of Representatives committee chairmen asked for guidance on replacing the sustainable growth-rate Medicare physician payment formula, and healthcare associations were happy to comply. The responses reflected the concerns of each responding association's constituency—particularly...
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Cost pressures, reimbursement challenges and healthcare reform make it difficult for hospitals to maintain healthy margins. Join our panel of leading physicians and hospital financial experts for an interactive discussion on how clinical redesign can help you significantly transform your...
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Mayo Clinic President and CEO Dr. John Noseworthy discusses Medicare payment issues, a new initiative that Mayo launched with UnitedHealth Group's Optum, and a recent request the Clinic made to the state of Minnesota.
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With healthcare costs rising at an unsustainable rate, CMS and commercial payers are turning to reimbursement models that reward cost efficiencies and quality outcomes. These emerging payer models encourage providers, payers and purchasers to team up in more collaborative ways to share data and use...
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The controversy over the appropriate use of health information technology systems to streamline workflow while not fraudulently increasing healthcare claims will get a public airing early next month.
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