Massachusetts lawmakers are weighing a bill that would give the state the power to step in and temporarily take control of a hospital that wants to shut down essential services.
Three acute care hospitals — in North Adams, Lynn and Quincy — have closed since 2014 in Massachusetts, despite the state Department of Public Health determining their services were necessary, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which backs the receivership bill.
Wisconsin health care associations hope programs funded in the new state budget will help ease persistent labor shortages affecting everything from hospitals to long-term care providers.
The budget was crafted by Republicans but signed Wednesday by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Hospitals, assisted living facilities, disability service providers and dental providers will all benefit from funding that goes toward workforce programs, and other initiatives.
In October 2018, Birch was served papers at her home in Kingsport informing her that Ballad Health was suing her for $11,590.10 for two unpaid hospital bills from 2016.
Healthcare reformers have set their eyes on ensuring that the federal government pays the same price for procedures no matter where they happen. Called site neutrality, advocates see the price discrepancies as an inefficiency that needs fixing, while hospital advocates say reimbursement reductions would devastate the care they provide.
Coding reviews provide an opportunity to conduct a thorough compliance review that not only addresses other components of the coding process, but also the integrity of the patient’s record.
CMS introduced the inpatient-only (IPO) list in 2001 to ensure patients who undergo complex, high-risk surgical procedures receive postoperative monitoring services in an inpatient setting.
The IPO list is routinely updated, and it is published annually in the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) final rule. Although the list is usually made active in January, healthcare providers can view it a couple of months earlier in November when the OPPS final rule is published. The first IPO list had 300 procedures, but that number has grown to 1,700 in 2023.