Hospitals can use new CMS Condition of Participation regarding ADTs to enhance strategic alignment with independent physicians and post-acute providers
New requirements regarding notifications of admissions, discharges and transfers present both a challenge and a strategic opportunities for hospitals.
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.
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.
New federal guidance seeks to clarify reimbursement of COVID-19 testing and vaccinations
Federal agencies have issued new guidance intended to make it easier for healthcare providers to receive reimbursement for administering COVID-19 tests to insured individuals and for giving vaccinations to the uninsured.
SVP Rick Gundling recaps new workshops, Biden and surprise bills
Rick Gundling, HFMA’s senior vice president of professional practice, talks about the Association's education plans for 2021 and comments on some hot topics in healthcare.
Denials management: An underrated tool for optimizing value-based revenue
Effective denials management not only supports a strong revenue stream under existing fee-for-service payment models, but also is a key tool for managing the full range of value-based payment contracts.
Healthcare News of Note: Xavier Becerra likely to be confirmed as next U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles, including information on the likely confirmation of Xavier Becerra as HHS secretary, which specialists are seeing an uptick in patients and lingering health issues from COVID-19.
Prospective HHS secretary: ‘We will do robust enforcement to make sure that price transparency is there for all Americans’
Xavier Becerra, the nominee to be secretary of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration, said transparency is a vital step in addressing the issue of healthcare prices.