Healthcare News of Note: A majority of physicians fear they missed signs of drug misuse during the pandemic and predict drug overdose deaths will rise, says a Quest Diagnostics report
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: Physicians fear they missed signs of drug misuse during the pandemic, improved technology use is seen in patient engagement, and the majority of Medicaid health plans have a health equity plan.
Hospitals, physicians file lawsuit over the arbitration process in the new surprise billing regulations
Leading provider associations have asked a federal court to halt the incorporation of criteria that appear to favor insurers over providers in an arbitration process to determine out-of-network payment amounts.
News Briefs: Federal vaccination requirements finalized for hospitals and most other healthcare settings
If a hospital’s staff aren’t fully vaccinated by Jan. 4, the organization will be deemed noncompliant with Medicare and Medicaid regulations, according to a new federal rule.
Healthcare provisions in massive legislation could improve care access but also reduce federal funding for some hospitals
In pending legislation, reductions to disproportionate share hospital payments would be used to subsidize commercial insurance for low-income residents of states that haven’t expanded Medicaid.
The pandemic cast a new light on mental health, and telemedicine provided a new avenue to access. How is the industry likely to view mental health and behavioral health in the future?
Dr. Ranga Krishnan of Rush University System for Health discusses the future of mental health payment and practice. He addresses how provider organizations can address workforce shortages by becoming partners in training and by changing the way they provide care to patients. He also talks about improving mental and behavioral healthcare in a value-based payment environment.
Additional requirements are needed to make healthcare price transparency worthwhile, report states
Updates to price transparency regulations should address compliance and formatting and incorporate new data elements.
Hospitals and Congress propose improvements to prior authorization processes in Medicare Advantage
The American Hospital Association says pending regulations that would affect prior authorization should be expanded to include Medicare Advantage.
Research highlights ways to save more than $250 billion per year through healthcare administrative simplification
Savings can be generated at the organizational and healthcare industry levels through steps to reduce wasteful administrative processes, study authors wrote.
Healthcare News of Note: Healthcare insurers owe hospitals billions of dollars in payments and are putting more patients in a bind with retroactive claim denials, says Kaiser Health News
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: Insurers are behind in billions of dollars in payments to hospitals, the strain on clinicians and staff grows amid the pandemic, and CFO duties involve more digital activities and investor relations.
The finalized arbitration process in new surprise-billing regulations appears to favor insurers over hospitals
A new rule establishes a process for resolving payment disputes between health plans and hospitals when regulations on surprise billing begin in 2022.