hospitals

One in Five Rural Hospitals at Risk of Closing

More than one out of every five rural hospitals in the U.S. is at risk of closing, according to a new report. Among the factors putting these hospitals at risk are growing uncompensated care, declining inpatient volume, inadequate reimbursement from public payers, workforce shortages, high drug costs, and the opioid epidemic. More than half of the rural hospitals in Mississippi and Alabama are at risk of closing, as are significant numbers of rural hospitals in Montana, Kansas, and Georgia. Many of these at-risk hospitals are considered essential to their communities, a measure based on their service to vulnerable populations, the [...]

iqtsupport2019-02-20T13:00:08-05:00February 20, 2019|hospitals|

Hospital Prices Lead Rise in Health Care Costs, Study Finds

A new study has concluded that rising hospital prices, not increased utilization, is primarily responsible for rising health care costs. Overall, according to a new analysis by the Health Care Cost Institute, health care costs continue to rise despite declining health care utilization. Among the report’s findings: Hospital prices are rising faster than physician prices. ER prices rose more than twice as much as ER utilization in 2017. Increases in spending for psychiatric services outpaced increases in utilization of those services. Inpatient spending rose 10 percent between 2013 and 2017 even though inpatient utilization fell five percent during that period. [...]

iqtsupport2019-02-14T06:00:19-05:00February 14, 2019|hospitals|

New Study Zeroes in on ER Use

A new study has concluded that more than four million emergency room visits a year are for chronic medical problems that, if treated more effectively at the primary care level, could have been avoided. And that those more than four million visits cost $8.3 billion a year. According to a new analysis performed by Premier, Inc., more than 24 million ER visits a year are by patients with six chronic medical conditions: asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, heart failure, hypertension, and behavioral health problems. Thirty percent of those visits, the study concluded, could have been prevented with better care [...]

iqtsupport2019-02-11T06:00:17-05:00February 11, 2019|hospitals|

Hospitals Sue Over Site-Neutral Outpatient Payment Policy

Nearly 40 hospitals have filed a joint lawsuit in opposition to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ site-neutral payment policy for Medicare-covered outpatient services. In the suit, the hospitals charge the federal government with overstepping its authority in implementing such a change through regulation in the face of past congressional action to limit the use of site-neutral payments. Under its site-neutral payment policy, Medicare pays the same for some outpatient services regardless of where those services are provided. Under Medicare’s previous policy, Medicare paid more for services provided in hospital-run outpatient facilities. Hospitals argue that their outpatient facilities are [...]

iqtsupport2019-01-30T06:00:38-05:00January 30, 2019|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, hospitals, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Hospitals Flee Downside Risk in Medicare Bundled Programs

More than half of the hospitals that voluntary participate in Medicare bundled payment model programs leave those programs when faced with the possibility of financial penalties based on their performance. So concludes a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Some of these models feature both “upside” and “downside” risk. Upside risk offers financial incentives to participants that keep their costs below targeted amounts; they share those savings with Medicare. Downside risk occurs when hospitals are penalized when their costs exceed agreed-upon targets. Some of the model programs begin with only upside risk and later move into both upside [...]

iqtsupport2019-01-29T06:00:06-05:00January 29, 2019|Alternative payment models, hospitals, Medicare|

No Medicaid Expansion=Greater Peril for Rural Hospitals

Rural hospitals located in states that did not expand their Medicaid programs, as authorized by the Affordable Care Act, are at much greater risk of closing than hospitals in states that did expand their Medicaid programs. According to a Stateline report, most of the 100 rural hospitals that have closed since 2010 and most of the more than 600 rural hospitals that are considered to be in danger of closing now are located in states like Texas, Mississippi, and 12 others that have not expanded their Medicaid programs. Small rural hospitals that have not closed serve large proportions of uninsured [...]

iqtsupport2019-01-28T06:00:27-05:00January 28, 2019|Affordable Care Act, hospitals, Medicaid|

MedPAC Meets

Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues. The issues on MedPAC’s December agenda were: The Medicare prescription drug program (Part D) Opioids and alternatives in hospital settings: payments, incentives, and Medicare data Hospital inpatient and outpatient services payments Redesigning Medicare’s hospital quality incentive programs Physicians and other health professional services payments Medicare payment policies for advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants Ambulatory surgical centers and hospice payments Skilled nursing facilities, home health agency, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities payments Long-term care hospital services payments Outpatient dialysis payments Future [...]

iqtsupport2019-01-24T06:00:53-05:00January 24, 2019|Alternative payment models, hospitals, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, MedPAC|

S&P: Stable 2019 for Non-Profit Hospitals

Non-profit hospitals should experience a relatively stable 2019, according to S&P Global Financial. The bond-rating company estimates that 81 percent of such hospitals will be stable this year, with roughly equal numbers of hospitals looking at upgrades and downgrades. This stability is being driven by strong balance sheets and diversification while challenges to hospital financial performance and stability include the possibility of a recession, rising costs for serving an aging population, changes in Medicaid eligibility and payment policies, and the continued emergence of non-traditional health care providers. S&P also concludes that hospital operating margins are recovering after years of investment [...]

iqtsupport2019-01-22T06:00:30-05:00January 22, 2019|hospitals|

Hospital Uncompensated Care Unchanged in 2017

Despite a modest increase in the uninsured rate, hospital uncompensated care in 2017 was $38.4 billion, essentially the same as it was in 2016 and down from the all-time high of $46.8 billion in 2013. This comes from an American Hospital Association survey that also found that in 2017, hospital admissions and inpatient days rose modestly hospital outpatient visits and surgeries increased emergency room visits declined the proportion of for-profit hospitals declined the number of rural hospitals fell Learn more in the Healthcare Dive article “Uncompensated care costs flat in 2017 despite uptick in uninsured.”

iqtsupport2019-01-11T06:00:13-05:00January 11, 2019|hospitals|

MedPAC Meets

Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues. The issues on MedPAC’s December agenda were: Medicare payments for physician and other health professionals services payments for ambulatory surgical centers payments for hospital inpatient and outpatient care Medicare’s hospital quality incentive program payments for skilled nursing facilities payments for long-term care hospitals payments for inpatient rehabilitation facilities payments for outpatient dialysis services payments for hospice care payments for home health services the Medicare Advantage program MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues involving the Medicare program. [...]

iqtsupport2018-12-11T06:00:45-05:00December 11, 2018|hospitals, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|