Topics
Reimbursement
Volume growth contributes to improved hospital margins in October, finds Kaufman Hall
Hospital margins up in October, driven by volume
Revenue Cycle Management
Referral process going digital as healthcare providers look to stem revenue leakage
Referral processes going digital
Strategic Planning
Managing risk in a hyper-outsourcing world requires facilitating good vendor relationships
Managing risk in an outsourcing world
Capital Finance
Healthcare real estate: The pros and cons of buying versus leasing
To lease or to buy? The pros and cons
Supply Chain
Unnecessary healthcare supply chain spending reaches almost $26 billion; savings opportunities remain
Unnecessary supply chain spending reaches $26B
Accounting & Financial Management
Healthcare spending rises to $3.6 trillion in the U.S., driven partly by health insurance tax
Health spending rises to $3.6T
Budgeting
'Care cascades,' or unwarranted tests, show hidden costs
Unnecessary tests show hidden costs
Quality and Safety
Hospitals given latitude to select transplant candidates don't prioritize sickest patients
Hospitals don't prioritize sickest transplant candidates
Billing and Collections
Poor digital billing process associated with uncollected payments
Poor digital billing associated with collections
Claims Processing
BCBS Institute and Solera partner, pay SDoH organizations through outcomes-based medical claims
BCBS Institute, Solera, to pay organizations through outcomes-based claims
Workforce
Shortage of specialists negatively impacting patients in rural areas
Specialist shortage hurting rural patients
Operations
Getting a handle on identity and access in healthcare isn't just a technology problem
Identity and access: Not just a tech problem
Medical Devices
Apple is developing custom health information tracking chips
Apple is developing custom health chips
Hospital/physician relations
Quality of initial training makes a big difference in EHR satisfaction, KLAS report finds
Poor EHR training brings down provider satisfaction
Construction & Facilities Management
Cape Cod Healthcare building $180M patient tower, investing in EHR
CCHC building $180M patient tower
Compliance & Legal
AHIP, BCBS Association support lawsuit against health insurance tax for Medicaid managed care
AHIP, BCBS Association support health insurance tax lawsuit
Policy and Legislation
Mayor Pete Buttigieg unveils plan to reduce inequities in healthcare access
Mayor Pete releases plan to curb health inequities
Community Benefit
Advocate Aurora Health contributed $2.1 billion to community charitable care and services in 2018
Advocate Aurora: $2.1B in charity care
Accountable Care
Physician-led accountable care organizations outperform hospital-led counterparts
Physician-led ACOs outperform hospital ACOs
Acute Care
Pressure ulcers cost the health system $26.8 billion a year
Pressure ulcers cost the health system $26.8B a year
Ambulatory Care
Medical schools, teaching hospitals account for 3% of US GDP, report shows
Med schools, teaching hospitals are 3% of GDP
Analytics
Anthem, MassChallenge HealthTech to collaborate on accelerator launch
Anthem, MassChallenge HealthTech launching accelerator
Business Intelligence
While the price of healthcare is growing, utilization is dropping and price variations persist, report says
HCCI: Price of healthcare is growing, utilization is dropping, price variations persist
ICD-10 & Coding
Physician practices examine risk adjustment coding in wake of federal lawsuits
Practices keeping close watch on risk adjustment coding
Meaningful Use
CMS overhauls meaningful use EHR program, renames it 'Promoting Interoperability'
CMS overhauls meaningful use as 'Promoting Interoperability'
Medicare & Medicaid
Final days of ACA open enrollment show 10% drop in signups
ACA enrollment down 10% going into final days
Patient Engagement
Patients intrigued by digital health services, but still value face-to-face interactions
Patients still value face-to-face visits
Pharmacy
Suicide attempts and hospitals admissions linked to non-opioid drugs on the rise
Suicides, admissions linked to non-opioid drugs
Population Health
Majority of parents say socioeconomic factors negatively impact their families' health
Socioeconomic factors impact families' health
Risk Management
Cybersecurity needs to be put in business terms
Cybersecurity needs to be put in business terms
Telehealth
Laws ensuring commercial insurance coverage for telehealth increasing among states
Laws ensuring commercial insurance coverage for telehealth increasing among states
Mergers & Acquisitions
CVS Health to acquire IlliniCare Health in agreement with Centene
CVS to acquire IlliniCare in Centene deal
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Policy and Legislation

Sep 27 | Jeff Lagasse
Affordable Care Act slashed the uninsured rate among people with diabetes
The dip in the uninsured rate was especially pronounced among those with low income.
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Sep 26 | Mike Miliard
CMS unveils new rules aimed at clinician burden, patient experience
The Omnibus Burden Reduction and Discharge Planning rules both aim to reduce red tape and enable transparency, says…
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Sep 26 | Susan Morse
Hospitals are fighting DSH payment cuts
America's Essential Hospitals said it is working with lawmakers to stop $4 billion in cuts for 2020 from taking effect November 22.
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Sep 20 | Susan Morse
Pelosi drug bill would give HHS Secretary Alex Azar authority to negotiate prices on 25 drugs
The maximum price that could be set is 1.2 times the average international market price.
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Sep 18 | Susan Morse
Court rules in favor of hospitals on site-neutral payments
The decision saves hospitals from a $760 million rate cut in 2020.
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Sep 18 | Susan Morse
Rebates for brand-name drugs in Part D reduced growth in spending
Still, Medicare spent $2 billion more for brand-name drugs with rebates in 2015 than in 2011.
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Sep 13 | Jeff Lagasse
Trump administration's public charge rule presents threat to health, scholars say
A court brief contends the public charge rule would harm the health of immigrants and their communities,…
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Sep 13 | Susan Morse
Candidates clash over Medicare for All in Thursday's debate
The cost of Senator Bernie Sanders' MFA plan is $50 trillion over 10 years.
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Sep 11 | Jeff Lagasse
Uninsured rate on the rise for the first time since passage of the Affordable Care Act
The findings come at a time when the fate of the ACA is in the hands of a federal appeals court.
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Sep 06 | Susan Morse
UnitedHealth's contract dispute with Team Health has implications industry-wide
If staffing companies receive lower reimbursements from insurers, they would likely seek to increase subsidies…
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