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Primary Care Spending Declines Amid Health Care Cost Rise

At a time when health care costs continue to rise, spending for primary care is declining. This is the conclusion of an analysis of Health Care Cost Institute Data published on the Health Affairs Blog. According to the analysis, spending on primary health care declined six percent between 2012 and 2016 – more than twice the rate of the decline in spending for any other type of care. These results concern analysts because research shows that investment in primary care services generally improves population health at less cost. The decline is in utilization, not price, and while the reasons for [...]

iqtsupport2018-03-16T06:00:11-04:00March 16, 2018|Uncategorized|

Community Health Center Patients Often Have Housing Problems

Nearly half of the patients served by community health centers have housing problems, according to a new report published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Among those problems: two or more homes in the past year alone, difficulty paying their rent or mortgage, and homelessness. Some have homes that are not their own. Practitioners need to understand this and help patients address their housing challenges, the study suggests, because housing concerns often prevent such patients from complying with medical instructions. Learn more about how housing challenges affect health and health care in the JAMA report “Prevalence of Housing [...]

iqtsupport2018-02-26T06:00:43-05:00February 26, 2018|Uncategorized|

Senators Push IRS on Non-Profit Compliance

Two prominent senators have written to the Internal Revenue Service seeking information about what the agency is doing to ensure that non-profit hospitals comply with the requirements for providing sufficient community benefits to justify their tax-exempt status. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a senior member of that committee, have asked the IRS to provide their committee with specific information about how the IRS evaluates non-profit hospitals’ Form 990 Schedule H; about guidance the IRS provides regarding how hospitals define their communities and their communities’ needs; about the performance and outcome of [...]

iqtsupport2018-02-16T09:38:58-05:00February 16, 2018|Uncategorized|

Physician-Owned Hospitals Returning?

In testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, new Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar indicated that he may be receptive to easing restrictions on physician-owned hospitals. The Affordable Care Act made it difficult for doctors either to launch new hospitals of their own or to expand physician-owned hospitals already in operation, and many existing physician-owned facilities stopped serving Medicare patients. In response to a question from a committee member, Azar expressed his interest in working to enable physician-owned hospitals to operate. Learn more from this Fierce Healthcare article.

iqtsupport2018-02-15T09:56:12-05:00February 15, 2018|Uncategorized|

The Telehealth Trend

Patients, insurers (including government), and providers are all looking toward telehealth as a means of enhancing access to care and improving the health of people. In recognition of this trend, the web site Healthcare Finance News has published a series of articles looking at telehealth: Growing demand for telemedicine fueling multibillion dollar market growth Telemedicine can lower costs for health systems by $24 a patient, study finds CMS to waive restrictions to reimburse for telemedicine in the joint replacement payment model Almost all large employers plan to offer telehealth in 2018, but will employees use it? Why telehealth is fueling [...]

iqtsupport2018-01-08T06:00:05-05:00January 8, 2018|Uncategorized|

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.

iqtsupport2017-12-07T06:00:07-05:00December 7, 2017|Uncategorized|

Alternative Payment Model Spending Grows

In 2016, 29 percent of all health care payments were made through alternative payment models, continuing the movement toward paying for value rather than for volume. That 29 percent in 2016 was up from 23 percent in 2015. APMs include shared savings and shared risk programs, bundled payments, and population-based payments. Fee-for-service and other “legacy” payments accounted for 43 percent of health care payments in 2016 and pay for performance or care coordination fees accounted for another 28 percent of payments. These numbers come from a report from the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network. Learn more about the [...]

iqtsupport2017-11-03T06:00:35-04:00November 3, 2017|Uncategorized|

AMA: Health Insurance Concentration in Urban Areas Threatens Competition

Too much market share by insurers in urban areas can inhibit competition, and according to the American Medical Association, there is too little competition among insurers in too many urban markets today. According to a new AMA study, 69 percent of 389 metropolitan statistical area-level markets are “highly concentrated” in 89 percent of MSAs, at least one insurer issues at least 30 percent of commercial health insurance policies in 43 percent of urban MSAs, a single insurer owns at least 50 percent of the market In a statement accompanying release of the report, an AMA spokesperson explained that After years [...]

iqtsupport2017-10-30T06:00:28-04:00October 30, 2017|Uncategorized|

Survey Says: More Than One in Four Underinsured

28 percent of insured adults under the age of 64 were uninsured in 2016, according to a Commonwealth Fund survey. The survey also found that: More than half of the uninsured are insured through their employer. Nearly one in four insured through their employer are underinsured. More than one in four Medicaid recipients were underinsured. Half of the underinsured report problems paying their medical bills. Individuals with higher deductibles are more likely to report problems paying their medical bills. More than 45 percent of the underinsured report skipping care they need because of cost. Low-income people and those with chronic [...]

iqtsupport2017-10-27T10:56:29-04:00October 27, 2017|Uncategorized|

Helping With Homelessness Reduces ER Costs

Hospitals are finding that helping homeless, frequent emergency room visitors find housing can reduce their unreimbursed ER costs. Throughout the country, hospitals are investing money – in some cases, millions of dollars – in housing programs for the homeless. What they are finding when they do so is that the stability of reliable housing – coupled with supportive social services – appears to be reducing the frequency with which such individuals appear in their ERs. Examples of such programs can be found in Sacramento, Orlando, Portland, New York City, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. Learn more about what hospitals are doing, [...]

iqtsupport2017-10-20T06:00:26-04:00October 20, 2017|Uncategorized|