Healthcare News of Note: Many health system boards find they are poorly equipped to institute DEI changes, says survey
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: Health system boards are willing to change but slow at implementing DEI measures, international nurses are filling the workforce gap, and youth mental health has suffered during the pandemic.
Healthcare News of Note: McKinsey analyzes a range of scenarios based on the infectiousness, immune evasion and severity of disease linked to the omicron variant
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: An in-depth analysis looked at what the U.S. can expect with the onslaught of the omicron variant, CMS rescinded a drug pricing model, and total healthcare utilization in 2020 dipped below 2019 levels.
Survey: Health systems push toward risk-based payment models, payer-provider partnerships
Check out the key takeaways from a survey conducted in Summer 2021 with healthcare executives, which focused on risk-based models, data issues, leaders’ concerns on hitting budgets and more.
HHS’s Office of Inspector General announces audit of providers’ COVID-19 billing practices
OIG has announced an audit of Provider Relief Fund recipients to ensure they did not balance-bill presumptive or actual COVID-19 patients.
Hospitals need federal support to handle the ongoing staffing and financial crunch, industry leaders say
The hospital industry issued its latest plea for additional federal help to mitigate the financial and operational strain of COVID-19, including surging staffing costs.
Healthcare stakeholders are invited to contribute suggestions for improving prior authorization
A two-month comment period is available for healthcare stakeholders to suggest electronic standards that would make the prior authorization process more efficient.
The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers can take effect nationwide, Supreme Court says
The court lifted injunctions that had halted implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in half the country, leaving hospitals and other affected providers with likely only a few weeks to begin complying.
Research seeks to pinpoint health system characteristics associated with the tendency to ‘overuse’ healthcare
Higher bed counts, fewer primary care physicians and investor ownership are among the characteristics of health systems that tend to overuse healthcare, according to a new study.
Coverage denials based on medical necessity are far more likely to arise from Medicare FFS rules than from MA plan policies
Coverage rules stemming from Medicare national and local determinations were the most likely cause of claim denials in one Medicare Advantage plan.
CMS proposes to restrict Medicare coverage of a high-profile new Alzheimer’s drug
Medicare will pay for use of a new drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease only for patients in approved clinical trials, CMS said in a proposed coverage determination.