Reimbursement news and information

The UPMC health system is expressing confidence that it won't be seriously wounded in the battle to hold onto patients in the aftermath of the Highmark-West Penn Allegheny merger.
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The Cleveland Clinic is in the process of cutting $330 million from its budget for next year—a move that could result in an unspecified number of employee layoffs and thousands of early retirements.
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Maine Gov. Paul LePage said on Wednesday that the state has paid its hospitals nearly $500 million for unpaid Medicaid services, ending a long-standing debt the Republican governor says has been financially crippling for the state's hospitals and Maine's economy.
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Dr. Jack Padour was burning out. The Ventura, Calif., internal medicine doctor faced falling reimbursement rates and rising overhead. The only way to maintain his earnings was to see more patients. Two years ago, Padour changed his practice to a model attracting doctors and debate across the nation.
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A growing number of physicians in the Las Vegas area have implemented a pay-first policy for elective surgeries. Too many patients seem to not be paying their bills.
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The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services awarded contracts to three additional managed-care organizations to provide healthcare coverage to residents newly eligible for Medicaid under the state's plan to comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has joined the entities urging the CMS to publish the Medicare earnings and de-identified clinical data of individual physicians. But the foundation stopped short of calling for widespread public release to any interested party.
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Indiana University Health is trimming its workforce by about 800 positions at seven campuses as part of a plan to slash $1 billion in costs over the next five years.
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UnitedHealthcare and five southeastern Wisconsin healthcare providers that are part of Quality Health Solutions have agreed to form an accountable care initiative to serve more than 100,000 patients covered through employer-sponsored health plans.
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A new study finds that the Rochester, N.Y., area has the lowest overall Medicare spending rate in the nation, a feat health officials attribute to aggressive regional planning that keeps a lid on unneeded hospital expansions and technology upgrades that insurers ultimately pay for.
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