CMS has issued a clarification on its rule governing how Medicare classifies and pays for short hospital stays, but healthcare providers are still crying foul over the new standard.
A study commissioned by America's Health Insurance Plans is predicting a second consecutive year of deep payment cuts for Medicare Advantage programs which "could result in a high degree of disruption in the MA market."
As health systems across the country look for ways to adapt to a changing marketplace and a wave of federally driven reform efforts, Sanford Health is enjoying the benefits of a strategic leap it took nearly two decades ago....
With weeks to go before federal regulators set the final figure for a payment rate cut to the Medicare Advantage program, insurers and financial analysts are predicting the blow will be twice as hard as what CMS proposed last week.
The proposed 2015 payment rate cut to Medicare Advantage health plans is less than expected and less than the reduction this year, but insurers and their allies in Congress are expressing displeasure with the prospect of a second consecutive haircut.
Building electronic health record systems that comply with the federal Meaningful Use program is a daunting task for providers large and small. But basic "regulatory compliance is a far larger day-to-day challenge" than fighting fraud, says one health system CIO.
The deadline to buy insurance for 2014 on the public health insurance exchanges is March 31. Reaching out to the uninsured and convincing them to enroll is a make-or-break effort for the hallmark federal healthcare reform program...
Assigning responsibility for the costs linked to maintaining adequate supplies of medications is at the heart of the medication shortage issue, says one pharmaceutical economist.
Vulnerabilities in electronic health records systems are creating opportunities for fraud among healthcare providers and contractors working to achieve Meaningful Use attestation, says the Office of Inspector General.
Insurers say they have to design their provider networks for the new public exchanges with cost control in mind. Critics say excluded hospitals in rural and economically disadvantaged areas of the country are at risk of financial ruin. CMS will try to have the final say...
