Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
A New Twist on Telehealth
Residents of urban areas often have the same access-to-care problems as rural residents, although the latter receive far more attention. So concludes a new report published on the Health Affairs Blog. According to the analysis, urban and rural residents have similar access problems – and among urban residents, the problems in some instances are even greater. One distinction: …while rural America has access problems because there are not enough doctors, urban America has access problems because there are not enough appointments. One potential solution to this problem, the report suggests, [...]
Non-Profit Hospitals Tout Community Benefit
Non-profit hospitals invest $11 for every one dollar they do not pay in taxes because of their tax-exempt status. Or so says a study prepared for the American Hospital Association. According to the study, in 2013 non-profit hospitals provided $67.4 billion worth of benefits to their communities compared to the $6 billion they would have paid in taxes had they been for-profit hospitals. Those community benefits came in four forms: financial assistance and means-tested government programs (such as unreimbursed Medicaid costs) community-building activities Medicare shortfalls bad debt attributable to charity [...]
Pay Issues Slow Telehealth Spread
While most health care organizations and providers intend to make greater use of telehealth in the coming years, the manner and speed with which that use grows is being limited in part by reimbursement issues. A survey conducted for the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives found that About half of the study respondents listed reimbursement as a limitation, noting that some payers have been slow to reimburse telehealth visits and or reimburse at rates that are lower than face-to-face care. Survey participants reported using telehealth in three primary ways: [...]
MedPAC Meets
The independent agency that advises Congress and the administration on Medicare payment policies met last week in Washington, D.C. Among the issues discussed at the meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission were: the merit-based incentive payment system a unified payment system for post-acute care telehealth a redesign of Medicare’s hospital value incentive program Find the presentations and issue briefs for these subjects and others discussed at the MedPAC meeting here, on MedPAC’s web site.
House Committee to Hold 340B Hearing
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s oversight subcommittee will hold a hearing on Wednesday about the 340B Drug Pricing Program. At the hearing, titled “Examining How Covered Entities Utilize the 340B Drug Pricing Program,” the subcommittee hopes …to hear directly from entities participating in the program to get a better understanding of how the program is used, including how much money is saved, the types of drugs purchased and prescribed within the program, how entities track their savings, and how those savings are used to improve patient care. Learn more [...]