Leveraging the supply chain for cost reduction
Learn from seven healthcare finance executives about the different strategies used to help reduce their hospital's costs using technology, transparency and automation in this roundtable.
News Briefs: A new fee is set for using the No Surprises Act arbitration portal
Bringing out-of-network payment disputes to arbitration under the No Surprises Act in 2024 will be less expensive than previously proposed. In a final rule, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury established the administrative fee for using the independent dispute resolution (IDR) portal at $115 per case, effective Jan. 22. That’s…
Biden administration announces effort to make healthcare more competitive and transparent
Providers and insurers should be on the lookout for the Biden administration to hand down regulations and guidance intended to promote competition in healthcare. The White House in December released a fact sheet stating its position that a lack of competition affects healthcare prices and accessibility for consumers. Drug costs have been a target of…
Employer-sponsored healthcare coverage would benefit from better access to data, Congress is told
Employers can stimulate efforts to improve the value of healthcare, but they need help in the form of better access to claims data and prices, according to testimony at a recent congressional hearing. With those tools in hand, employers can more easily forge provider partnerships that lower costs and raise healthcare quality, health benefit administrators…
Recent updates and emerging best practices for ACOs in the Medicare Shared Savings Program
Going into the 12th year since it brought accountable care into the healthcare lexicon, the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) continues to evolve, with CMS making changes and participants fine-tuning best practices. Starting with 220 accountable care organizations (ACOs) in 2012-13, the MSSP grew to 561 in 2018. However, the number has been below 500…
2024 outlook: Hospitals can expect a steadier year financially, but key questions loom
Although the past year brought more stability for the not-for-profit hospital sector, analysts foresee 2024 as a pivotal period in determining the viability of individual organizations. Fitch Ratings continues to describe the sector’s outlook as “Deteriorating.” In a year-end report, the credit-rating agency said downgrades of hospitals and health systems in 2023 had outpaced upgrades…
HFMA strategy session highlights challenges and opportunities for healthcare finance leaders: payer relations, supply costs, AI and more
The legacy healthcare provider’s position in the industry could grow tenuous if leaders don’t respond boldly and strategically to ongoing trends, according to insights recently presented to HFMA leaders. “We’re at a crossroads right now,” Ashraf Shehata, principal and U.S. national sector leader for healthcare and life sciences with KPMG, said in November during a…
News Briefs: Medicare’s hospital outpatient payment rate for 2024 improves marginally from the proposed rule
The final rule setting Medicare’s 2024 payment rates and policies for hospital outpatient services and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) contained little to make hospitals optimistic about the government portion of their payer mix. Base payments for items and services furnished in hospital outpatient settings and ASCs will increase by 3.1% after factoring in the usual…
Dennis Dahlen: It’s time to look at what’s working — and what isn’t — in reducing care costs
There’s a surprising phenomenon taking place in Medicare spending — and it points to the need to look deeper when it comes to healthcare cost containment. For years, Medicare was viewed as the nation’s “budget buster,” with spending spiraling so quickly that some budget experts predicted no amount of tax money could sustain it. And…
Key Senate committee takes a close look at healthcare waste and prices
The U.S. Senate is intent on finding ways to improve the value of healthcare, according to takeaways from a recent hearing of the Budget Committee. Although other committees and subcommittees in both chambers of Congress have held meaningful hearings about healthcare policy and costs this year, the Budget Committee’s attention to the matter is especially…