Operations Management

The best of 2023 from HFMA’s editorial team

The HFMA editors share their favorite content from this year and provide a glimpse of what's to come in 2024.

Erika Grotto December 4, 2023

Prior authorization in Medicare Advantage remains in the policy spotlight as 2024 regulations take effect

Healthcare policymakers and stakeholders continue to mull the need for guardrails to ensure optimal customer service among Medicare Advantage (MA) health plans. The American Hospital Association wrote a Nov. 20 letter to CMS stating that MA plans are looking to skirt policies designed to ensure straightforward coverage of essential healthcare services. These policies, finalized earlier…

Nick Hut December 1, 2023

Cost Plus Drugs announces its expansion into specialty drugs

If you have ever attended one of my lectures over the past three years, it is very rare that I don’t at least mention Cost Plus Drugs and the impact they have made in the pharmaceutical sales industry. The latest news on Cost Plus Drug Company Just this week, Mark Cuban, the founder of Cost…

Shawn Stack November 29, 2023

Healthcare News of Note: The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade shows hospitals ‘significantly’ reduced 3 hospital-acquired infections post-pandemic

Over the past few weeks, I have found these recent industry news stories that should be of interest to healthcare finance professionals.   1.  Healthcare-acquired infection scores improve for hospitals, but patient experience scores continue to decline, says new Leapfrog report Although hospitals are doing better when it comes to reducing healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) “after significant…

Deborah Filipek November 16, 2023

Senate bill would give hospitals a big break from looming Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts (updated)

Nov. 15 update: On Nov. 14, the House passed legislation on a bipartisan basis to keep the government funded through Jan. 19. Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments would be guaranteed to remain at their full amount through that date, and the bill similarly maintains short-term funding for graduate medical education, community health centers and the…

Nick Hut November 13, 2023

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 no major surprises and little to make hospitals optimistic about the government portion of their payer mix. Here are five of the most important payment and coverage takeaways from the rule, which totals 1,672 pages…

Nick Hut November 7, 2023

Medicare’s final $9 billion remedy plan for 340B providers doesn’t address hospitals’ key concerns

Hospitals received final details on a $9 billion remedy payment plan for participants in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, with advocates expressing disappointment that corresponding reductions to other payments will go through as previously proposed. CMS issued a Nov. 2 final rule describing the terms of the remedy payment, which was necessitated after the Supreme…

Nick Hut November 3, 2023

Leveraging investments to strengthen resilience: Key insights

The approach health systems take to balance sheet and treasury management varies significantly. One company's managing director dives into how organizations can take a balanced-scorecard method to investments using a tier system.

HFMA October 31, 2023

How healthcare organizations are tackling workforce issues in real time

Check out what a group of healthcare finance professionals said regarding workforce management issues including costs, candidate quality, contracting agencies and other issues that can impact a healthcare organization’s profitability in this roundtable discussion.

HFMA October 31, 2023

News Briefs: Medicaid DSH payment cut barely averted in September, still possible in November

Hospitals received a last-day reprieve from substantial cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, with House leaders reversing course Sept. 30 and ushering through a six-week government funding package. Language in the bill ensured the start of a four-year Medicaid DSH cut amounting to $32 billion was pushed back from Oct. 1 to Nov.…

Nick Hut October 31, 2023
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