Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
ED Myths Exposed
The uninsured do not use emergency rooms more than the insured. And the expansion of health insurance coverage increases rather than decreases ER use. So concludes the new Health Affairs study “The Uninsured Do Not Use the Emergency Department More – They Use Other Care Less.” Find the study here.
Fitch: Stable Outlook for Health Care in 2018
Despite a number of potential threats, Fitch Ratings predicts a stable financial environment for the health care industry in 2018. Fitch’s warns, though, of “outside disruptions” that could threaten that stability. Among those potential disruptions are tax reform legislation, government regulations, Amazon’s rumored entry into the industry, and advances in technology. The company predicts that ratings downgrades will exceed upgrades in the coming year. Learn more about Fitch’s predictions in this Healthcare Dive article.
CMS Publishes Quality Measures Under Consideration for 2018
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has published a list of quality measures it is considering implementing in Medicare quality programs in the coming year. The list consists of 32 proposed measures, down significantly from the nearly 100 it proposed last year. These measures are subject to comment by the National Quality Forum and stakeholders. Go here to see a commentary from CMS explaining what it hopes to accomplish and how it is pursuing those goals and go here to see a CMS document presenting the 32 proposed quality [...]
New Help With Addressing Low-Income Patients’ Social Services Needs?
One of the long-time barriers to states and hospitals addressing low-income patients’ social services needs and the social determinants of health has been a lack of resources for such assistance. Medicaid, in particular, has not been a financial participant in such efforts. But that may be changing. The new federal Medicaid managed care regulation, updated nearly two years ago, allows for the inclusion of some non-clinical services as covered Medicaid services and for funding for such services to be folded into Medicaid managed care plans’ capitation rates and medical loss [...]
The Battle Over 340B
Hospitals and other health care providers say it is an essential tool in ensuring access to care, and to prescription drugs, for their low-income patients. Pharmaceutical companies say it has expanded beyond its original purpose and is being used by hospitals to pad their profits. Members of Congress are divided: some are supportive and some are skeptical. The section 340B program that requires drug companies to provide discounts to selected hospitals and other providers that serve large numbers of low-income patients has been the subject of controversy in recent years. [...]