Finances: Page 78
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Urgent care claims skyrocket; ER claims pale in contrast
A new FAIR Health analysis of more than 25 billion privately billed healthcare claims found large differences in growth depending on the place of service.
By Les Masterson • March 21, 2018 -
Washington hospital lays off nearly a quarter of leadership
In January, the 140-bed hospital laid off 21 employees after subcontracting billing services.
By Meg Bryant • March 20, 2018 -
Blues plans made money in individual market last year
Payers still face an uncertain 2018 and 2019 in the ACA exchanges.
By Les Masterson • March 20, 2018 -
Maryland's all-payer model saved Medicare millions in first 3 years
A review of the state program found that it's on track to meet CMS-imposed targets for savings and patient safety.
By Les Masterson • March 19, 2018 -
Hospital prices see biggest gain in years, hiring on upswing
Hospital prices grew at their highest rate since 2009. Overall healthcare costs saw the highest increase since 2012.
By Les Masterson • March 19, 2018 -
Alex Wong via Getty Images
CMS plans MACRA changes to ease burden
CMS is expected to add more alternative payment models and is hoping to automatically receive quality data from EHRs rather than physicians reporting the data.
By Les Masterson • March 19, 2018 -
AMA survey says prior authorizations hurting clinical outcomes
Nearly one-third of physicians said they needed to wait at least three business days for a prior authorization decision, and doctors say the payer requests are rising.
By Les Masterson • March 19, 2018 -
Female doctors earn 28% less than men, report finds
Doximity found doctors saw a 4% wage increase from 2016 to 2017, but a persistent wage gap is widening.
By Les Masterson • March 15, 2018 -
340B accountability under fire at Senate panel
The hearing comes as drugmakers point fingers at hospitals and other players involved in the drug pricing system.
By David Lim • March 15, 2018 -
Ascension's Michigan layoffs at 500 and counting
The cuts include 20 management-level jobs.
By Meg Bryant • March 14, 2018 -
Deep Dive
More employers go direct to providers, sidestepping payers
A recent survey found that only 6% of employers contract directly with providers now, but 22% are considering it for 2019.
By Les Masterson • March 14, 2018 -
HDHPs can be more cost-effective for consumers, report says
A new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper looked at how much people could save over a year by going with high-deductible health plans.
By Les Masterson • March 14, 2018 -
CVS Health, Aetna shareholders vote to approve merger
The deal, which was scrutinized by Congress in late February, is emblematic of a quickly consolidating healthcare sector.
By David Lim • March 13, 2018 -
Labor, administrative costs drive US healthcare spending far beyond other nations
The report found the U.S. pays more for healthcare than other high-income countries, but has the lowest percentage of insured people, the lowest life expectancy and the highest infant mortality rate.
By Les Masterson • March 13, 2018 -
Moody's says nursing shortage will take toll on hospital margins
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the U.S. nursing shortage will last until 2025.
By Meg Bryant • March 9, 2018 -
Medicare Advantage risk-adjustment proposal causes alarm
The American Hospital Association and other groups are concerned about the plan to use more patient encounter data when calculating risk scores.
By Les Masterson • March 9, 2018 -
Providence St. Joseph Health swings to profit on higher patient volumes
The hospital system reported revenues jumped 5% over the previous year to $23 billion, with $1.6 billion spent on community benefits.
By David Lim • March 9, 2018 -
Deep Dive
Hospitals eye concierge medicine to lure patients, boost revenue
A program at Massachusetts General Hospital features 24/7 direct access to physicians via telephone or email, a stress technician/lifestyle coach and exercise demonstrations.
By Meg Bryant • March 9, 2018 -
Quorum's net loss shrinks to $27M as it pursues divestiture plan
The Brentwood, Tennessee-based hospital system saw $515 million in revenue in the 2017 fourth quarter — even with the same period in 2016.
By Meg Bryant • March 8, 2018 -
VisitPay, J.P. Morgan partner in new patient financing initiative
Patients are paying a greater portion of their healthcare costs, which is making providers look to third-party specialists to offer financial solutions.
By Les Masterson • March 8, 2018 -
UnitedHealth Group plans more scrutiny of ED claims
The payer will review emergency claims with the most serious conditions and reduce or deny any incorrect claims it finds.
By Les Masterson • March 8, 2018 -
Out-of-pocket healthcare costs up 11% in 2017
Highest out-of-pocket cost estimates were for orthopedics, plastic surgery, urology and neurology.
By Les Masterson • March 7, 2018 -
Credit downgrades for nonprofit hospitals rising
Moody’s Investors Service said there was more than three times the number of downgrades than upgrades last year.
By Les Masterson • March 7, 2018 -
Geisinger reports net income increase despite issues with ACA health plan
Geisinger Health Plan lost out on $11 million when the Trump administration put a halt to cost-sharing reduction payments last year.
By Les Masterson • March 5, 2018 -
Healthcare execs say EHRs don't do enough to manage value-based contracts
A Sage Growth Partners Study found that EHRs in many cases are not fulfilling promises to lower costs and improve population health management.
By Les Masterson • March 5, 2018
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