Government: Page 98
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Kidney transplants jump under Medicaid expansion
A study of more than 15,000 adults with advanced kidney disease showed rates rose after the Affordable Care Act's broadening of coverage, allowing patients access to the pricey procedure.
By Samantha Liss • Aug. 20, 2019 -
CMS to update hospital star ratings early next year despite blowback
"Republishing the flawed ratings in 2020 will not advance the goal of providing the public with accurate, purposeful information about quality," the American Hospital Association's SVP of policy said.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Updated Aug. 19, 2019 -
Medicare Advantage is booming but not producing savings, report finds
At the same time, the Medicare Shared Savings Program is cutting costs, but punitive aspects of the program make it less alluring for providers.
By Samantha Liss • Aug. 19, 2019 -
CMS chief unable to provide details on Trump healthcare plan
But Seema Verma did confirm the healthcare agency is "actively engaged in conversations" around the long-awaited plan.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 16, 2019 -
CMS brings controversial star ratings system to ACA plans
Insurance lobby AHIP is not opposed to the rankings, telling Healthcare Dive they're a "positive step" for plan shopping.
By Samantha Liss • Aug. 16, 2019 -
Nation's uninsured rose 700K in Trump's first year
States that refused to expand income eligibility for Medicaid saw the highest increase in uninsured rates.
By Ron Shinkman • Aug. 16, 2019 -
Most providers not fully compliant with HIPAA access requirements, research shows
The most common problem was providers not sending health records via email when patients requested them. About a quarter of providers were also potentially noncompliant with the health privacy law's fee limitations.
By Shannon Muchmore • Aug. 15, 2019 -
Ranking groups that rank hospitals — U.S. News comes out on top
Researchers attempted to rate the raters of hospital performance, but those organizations had fiery comments about the report that some said had "serious errors."
By Samantha Liss • Aug. 15, 2019 -
Hospitals facing likely DSH payment cuts after appeals court ruling
A federal appeals court reinstated a 2017 rule allowing Medicare and private insurance payments to be included in how Disproportionate Share Hospital reimbursements are calculated.
By Dana Elfin • Aug. 15, 2019 -
CMS says it wants to cut paperwork. Providers have ideas.
Companies took the agency's request for information as an opportunity to air perennial grievances, including inequitable quality measures, cumbersome prior authorization and problems with interoperability and telehealth.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 13, 2019 -
ACA market continues to lose those who don't qualify for financial help
Six states lost 50% or more of their unsubsidized population, or people who don't qualify for financial help. Iowa lost 85% of such customers.
By Samantha Liss • Aug. 13, 2019 -
Hospitals bash immigration rule likely to push millions off Medicaid
The American Hospital Association called the policy aimed at legal immigrants "misguided and harmful" and said it creates barriers to care.
By Shannon Muchmore • Updated Aug. 14, 2019 -
Surprise bills surge in ER, inpatient settings, JAMA finds
The study comes as lawmakers prepare to debate legislation tackling the problem, including a Senate bill that sets a payment standard for out-of-network services. Providers are pushing back.
By Shannon Muchmore • Aug. 12, 2019 -
Sponsored by Optum
Part 1: The US has fantastic health care, the problem is….
CEO Dr. Wyatt Decker discusses his perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for reinventing health care.
Aug. 12, 2019 -
Lack of tech, not jobs, could ding Medicaid enrollees facing work requirements
A large proportion of enrollees in the 16 states attempting to impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries already have jobs or are providing care for someone in their household, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
By Ron Shinkman • Aug. 12, 2019 -
North Carolina folds to provider pressure with insurance plan shifting away from set rates
The new hybrid network will consist of more than 68,000 providers. The initial proposed State Health Plan network included only 28,000.
By Rebecca Pifer Parduhn • Aug. 9, 2019 -
Louisiana drops Aetna, Centene plans from 2020 Medicaid managed care contracts
The state public health department dropped the two vendors, which manage benefits for roughly a third of the state’s 1.7 million Medicaid enrollees.
By Ron Shinkman • Aug. 9, 2019 -
Q&A
California's AG on future of ACA suit, CVS-Aetna union
Xavier Becerra talked to Healthcare Dive about suing Sutter, J&J and what could be his most influential case yet: defending the Affordable Care Act.
By Dana Elfin • Aug. 8, 2019 -
Courtesy of Gilead Sciences
Medicare boosts CAR-T cancer therapies with expanded coverage
CMS also broadened the settings in which the pricey therapies would be covered, applying its final rule to use in "healthcare facilities" rather than explicitly in hospitals.
By Ned Pagliarulo • Aug. 8, 2019 -
California surprise billing law disrupted contract negotiations, stakeholders say
The 2017 law was also perceived to have driven further provider consolidation in response to the leverage shift, according to research published in The American Journal of Managed Care.
By Shannon Muchmore • Aug. 7, 2019 -
Few patients price shop before planned hospital visit, survey finds
As CMS and lawmakers push for price transparency, the survey from a revenue cycle management software vendor suggests consumers may not know how to evaluate different options based on price, or even be aware that prices vary.
By Linda Wilson • Aug. 7, 2019 -
Adeline Kon/Healthcare Dive
ColumnMyth Diagnosis: Do hospitals charge more to make up for low government pay?
"What is crystal clear is that there's a huge unit cost payment differential between government and commercial payers," John Pickering of Milliman said. "What isn't clear is whether there's a causal effect between those two."
By Shannon Muchmore • Aug. 7, 2019 -
CMS tweaks hospital wage index change in final rule
The agency is heeding some concerns from hospital groups that facilities in urban areas would be unfairly dinged in the original plan, but the American Hospital Association isn't entirely on board with the new method either.
By Shannon Muchmore • Aug. 2, 2019 -
Anthem again irks docs with latest changes to reimbursement
"It is a nuisance. It makes absolutely no sense," dermatologist George Hruza said of the policy denying payment for certain follow-up office visits the same day a procedure is performed.
By Samantha Liss • Aug. 2, 2019 -
White House backs importing drugs from abroad
The Trump administration's latest drug price plan features ideas Republicans traditionally oppose, and breaks with past claims about the FDA's ability to safely oversee importation.
By Jonathan Gardner • July 31, 2019
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