Reimbursement news and information

Rural/Metro Corp., one of the nation's largest ambulance companies with operations mostly in rural areas in 21 states, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure its finances and save its business.
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The number of hospitals facing financial penalties for failing to stop patients from returning to the hospital will remain steady next year, but the potential severity of the punishments is doubling.
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The hospital supply chain is becoming more strategic and taking a more prominent role in guiding decisions that weigh clinical outcomes against the costs of medical supplies, devices and prescription drugs. But it still has a long way to go.
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The CMS has issued its final Medicare 2014 payment rule for inpatient stays at acute-care hospitals and long-term care facilities.
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Hospices are slated to receive an increase in their Medicare payments in the coming fiscal year under a final rule issued Friday by the CMS.
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Unlike a number of other publicly traded health insurers that did very well in the second quarter, Universal American Corp., which specializes in Medicare Advantage products, reported an adjusted net loss for the second quarter. Its revenue slid and its medical-loss ratio came in significantly...
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Providers who have been using low-dose CT scans to screen patients at high risk for lung cancer are a step closer to receiving Medicare and private insurance reimbursement for their services.
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Greater proportions of not-for-profit and government hospitals than for-profit hospitals qualified for at least one category of Medicare payment adjustments last year, according to new findings from the Government Accountability Office.
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A new report from the Institute of Medicine may finally put to rest the idea that policymakers should adopt a geographically based value index to set Medicare reimbursements, a proposal favored by providers and members of Congress in regions that have high-quality, low-cost care.
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In 1989, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act mandated use of the resource-based relative value scale methodology for physician payments under Medicare Part B. It's time for review.
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