GAO report examines how pass-through status affects Medicare payments for drugs used in outpatient care
A Government Accountability Office report finds that Medicare pays more to cover drugs used in hospital outpatient settings when pass-through payment status is in effect.
Healthcare News of Note: Trump administration diverted nearly $10 billion in funds slated for hospitals to Operation Warp Speed
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles, including the discovery that provider funds were used for Warp Speed operations, the need to retain the Medicare telehealth expansion and healthcare antitrust issues to watch.
After OIG says hospitals may be engaging in upcoding, CMS and AHA dispute the finding
The HHS Office of Inspector General says a significant rise in high-severity inpatient admissions with no corresponding increase in length of stay indicates a possible pattern of upcoding by hospitals in recent years.
Navigating change: Implications of CMS’s 2021 Physician Fee Schedule
Changes to the CMS Physician Fee Schedule for 2021 require immediate deliberation by provider organizations with respect to how they will structure their physician compensation arrangements.
Hospital groups ask Supreme Court to reverse payment cuts to 340B hospitals, off-campus provider-based departments
The American Hospital Association and other hospital groups are challenging 2020 appeals court decisions that allow HHS to continue slashing payments to 340B hospitals and to off-campus provider-based departments.
Is the Medicare Appeals Backlog Finally Breaking?
Facing a court order to eliminate its Medicare appeals backlog, the Trump administration has seen early success.
Significance of ACO Departures Downplayed by Industry Analysts
Industry analysts downplayed the recent revelation that 74 Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs) left the program at some point in 2018.
Medicare Expansion Proposals Draw Hospital Concerns
Hospital advocates are increasingly voicing opposition to various Medicare expansion proposals over concerns about their adverse financial impacts.
Panel: How the healthcare industry can achieve a higher-value and more equitable system
A panel of experts explored how to make healthcare more effective both generally and for underserved demographics specifically.
Healthcare News of Note: Report indicates uptick in hospital M&A activity
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of articles from the past week, including more M&A activity in Q4, an extension of the COVID-19 PHE underway and FTC examination of claims data to help assess impact of physician group consolidation.