News of Note: U.S. healthcare ranks last in comparison with 10 other high-income countries in a report by The Commonwealth Fund
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: Study says U.S. healthcare ranks last, LGBT+ community faces disparities, and 18 groups demand better healthcare.
Supreme Court leaves Affordable Care Act intact, but stakeholders say healthcare reform still has a ways to go
Hospital advocates applauded a Supreme Court ruling June 17 that left the Affordable Care Act in place.
Survey data highlights shortcomings in private insurance coverage compared with Medicare
Indicators of coverage gaps were more likely to be seen among individuals with private insurance.
USA Senior Care Network provides hospitals with incremental patient volume and increased revenue
One company’s senior director explains how hospitals or health systems can grow their market share without risk of bad debt when joining this company’s network.
Democratic congressional leaders ramp up efforts to craft a health insurance public option, generating hospital pushback
Leading Democrats in the House and Senate sent out a request for information to healthcare stakeholders, seeking input as they look to establish a public option for health insurance.
3 reasons healthcare providers are eager to offer text-to-pay convenience
Healthcare providers should consider the benefits of offering a text to pay option for their patients.
How revenue cycle teams can maintain effective patient financial services in a distanced world
Amid the challenging times of COVD-19, it is critical for revenue cycle leaders to educate themselves about best practices either created or refined during the pandemic to effectively promote patient financial engagement in today’s world of social distancing.
For rural hospitals, affiliations with large health systems can be a mixed bag
Significant declines in inpatient admissions among rural hospitals that eventually close may be a consequence of affiliations with health systems.
With insolvency looming for the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, provider payments could be impacted
The Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, used to pay for Part A hospital care, is on track to become insolvent as soon as 2024. Insolvency could lead to delays in payments to providers and adversely affect patient access.
How Spectrum Health built an effective work-from-home policy
Responding to workplace challenges posed by the COVID-19, Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., transformed its work-from-home policy approach into one that worked for all aspects of the revenue cycle — back, middle and front end — while establishing metrics to monitor and measure productivity and quality.