House bill may provide insight into coverage priorities if White House and Senate flip in November’s election
The best-case scenario for Democrats is to come out of election night with a 50-50 split of the Senate, which would allow them to pass a package of tweaks to the ACA, with the Vice-President (assuming Biden wins) casting the deciding vote.
Intermountain Healthcare to provide hospital-at-home services for some higher-acuity patients
The move to hospital at home for higher-acuity patients by some health systems can create savings for their Medicare Advantage and other full risk products and for its Administrative Services Only clients.
COVID-19 pandemic weakens push for public option
The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have weakened the push of states to implement public option health plans.
State public option efforts waiver in face of the COVID-19 pandemic
HFMA's Chad Mulvany says although COVID-19 may have "dampened enthusiasm" for Washington state's public option, he is not sure the blame for its slow start rests solely, or even partly, on COVID-19.
COVID-19’s impact on healthcare purchasers’ balance sheets will drive cost reduction efforts after the pandemic
HFMA's Chad Mulvany anticipates a combination of efforts to reduce the growth in per unit prices of healthcare and to reduce the total cost of care on the healthcare delivery system side after the pandemic.
Telehealth’s impact on clinic staffing models post-COVID-19
HFMA's Chad Mulvany predicts that if COVID-19 leads to widespread usage of telehealth, post-pandemic it will lead to a rethinking of primary care clinic footprints and staffing models.
March 23-27: CMS webinars are among a proliferation of online-only events in healthcare finance
A complete listing of healthcare finance-related hearings, conferences, webinars, public forums and deadlines for the week of March 23.
Risk-based contracting in the time of coronavirus
The APM target prices/benchmarks are among the many policy issues beyond paying for surge capacity that CMS, commercial health plans and providers will need to work through in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
2020 will see healthcare policy mired in inaction
Political polarization has posed a barrier to Congressional action in important areas of concern in healthcare, and these areas will likely not be addressed until after the 2020 presidential election.
New report: Patients and insurance companies in the United States pay higher prices for almost everything healthcare-related
Healthcare providers are likely to experience increased scrutiny and pressure to lower healthcare costs in 2020. To help its members successfully navigate this new environment, HFMA is hosting its first Financial Sustainability Summit April 16-17 in Denver (hfma.org/events).