hospitals

LTCH Numbers in Free Fall

The number of long-term care hospitals in the U.S. is falling fast. According to hospital industry sources, more than a quarter of all long-term care hospitals – commonly referred to as LTCHs – have closed over the past decade. Among the reasons for all the closings, according to those same sources, are low Medicare payments; Medicare site-neutral payment policies that limit the kinds of patients for which LTCHs can receive full, LTCH-level payments and not lower reimbursement; and the refusal of some Medicare Advantage plans to include LTCHs in their provider networks. LTCHs traditionally provide acute-care services to patients who [...]

joe2026-04-28T15:25:40-04:00April 29, 2026|hospitals, Medicare reimbursement policy, Uncategorized|

For-Profit Operators Opening Psychiatric Hospitals

Seeing a growing shortage of inpatient psychiatric beds for people with severe mental illness, a growing number of for-profit companies are establishing psychiatric hospitals in areas of need. Across the country, inpatient psychiatric hospitals have been closing for years and many acute-care hospitals have been closing their inpatient psychiatric units as well. Now, for-profit operators see opportunity and are attempting to seize it in underserved areas – and especially in underserved rural areas. Learn more about this trend of for-profit companies opening inpatient psychiatric hospitals from the KFF Health News article “For-Profit Companies Open Psychiatric Hospitals in Areas Clamoring for [...]

joe2024-04-09T17:02:14-04:00April 11, 2024|hospitals|

Surprise Medical Bills Lead Patients to Change Hospitals

Patients who receive surprise medical bills are more likely to change hospitals than those who do not, a new study has found. According to an analysis of behavior by obstetrics patients, …11 percent of mothers experienced a surprise out-of-network bill with their first delivery, and this was associated with an increase of 13 percent in the odds of switching hospitals for the second delivery, compared to mothers who did not experience a surprise bill. The study found that this switching often paid dividends for those who switched: Mothers who switched hospitals after a surprise out-of-network bill reduced their relative risk of receiving [...]

iqtsupport2019-03-08T06:00:41-05:00March 8, 2019|hospitals|