Final bill ensures no loss of funding for Medicaid DSH payments, graduate medical education
The finalized continuing resolution (CR) to keep the federal government funded through mid-March includes key healthcare provisions. The bill that passed both chambers of Congress just before Friday night’s expiration of funding contained the same healthcare items as the version that failed to pass the House the day before. A key difference was the absence…
Which healthcare policies were kept in a doomed second version of the continuing resolution?
A slimmed-down version of a year-end government funding package retained some of the core healthcare provisions from a larger previous version, but little was certain after the second version failed to pass the House of Representatives. After President-elect Donald Trump spoke out against a bipartisan agreement Wednesday night, Republicans in the House drafted a streamlined…
Year-end spending legislation looks promising for healthcare stakeholders — if it passes
Advocates for hospitals and other healthcare providers generally commended an end-of-the-year federal spending package that includes most of their requested provisions. However, a specific item loomed as a source of concern in the hospital sector, and by early Wednesday evening, there were questions about the viability of the entire bill. Congress released text for a…
9 features of a revitalized healthcare workforce
As the 2030s approach, the horizon looks daunting for the healthcare workforce. Consider these trends: The entire baby boomer generation will be eligible for Medicare coverage by the turn of the decade. Clinician shortages are projected to be well into the six figures by 2034, accelerated by a reported exodus of 145,000 clinicians in 2021…
As transparency rules enter their fifth year, advanced uses gain traction
With price transparency rules becoming more entrenched in the healthcare system, applications are growing more sophisticated. “There’s this treasure trove of data out there, and a lot of interest in how it can best be leveraged to support not just consumers but also broader policy goals to improve healthcare affordability,” Sabrina Corlette, JD, co-director of…
Hospital financial and revenue cycle benchmarks paint a complicated picture heading into the new year
The tail end of 2024 has brought promising news regarding hospital financial metrics, even as revenue cycle indicators suggest continuing strain. Margin data are showing moderate improvement, and one of the three credit-rating agencies has upgraded its 2025 sector outlook for not-for-profit (NFP) hospitals and health systems. Fitch Ratings announced this week it was revising…
The state of U.S. primary care: Daunting challenges, achievable solutions
Value-focused efforts to shore up primary care require bold initiatives that increasingly are being implemented but continue to encounter obstacles, according to insights from a recent conference. “We have answers in a kind of amazing array of [physician] practices all over the country that are generally doing an aligned thing,” said Asaf Bitton, MD, associate…
Detained suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson seemed to have a grudge against the healthcare industry
The capture of a suspect in the homicide of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson appeared to confirm the notion that anger at the healthcare industry motivated the perpetrator. A man named Luigi Mangione, 26, was apprehended at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa., on Monday, five days after Thompson was gunned down outside the site of parent…
Proposed ban on medical debt reporting faces an unfavorable political climate
Regulations essentially prohibiting the reporting of medical debt appear to be on shaky ground heading into 2025. Litigation brought by trade groups representing the accounts receivables industry has stalled the advancement of regulatory language issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and a bigger threat is impending with the upcoming transition of power in…
Motive, perpetrator remain elusive in shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
Media reports and law enforcement sources described Wednesday morning’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as a targeted attack against a high-profile executive, but as of early evening, police could not say why it happened. Thompson, 50, a married father of two teenage children, was walking toward the New York Hilton Hotel in Midtown…