American Hospital Association
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Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Impose Harsher Penalties On Those Who Assault Healthcare Staff
This week, senators introduced a bipartisan bill that would make it a federal crime to assault hospital workers. Even though nearly 40 states have passed laws to intensify penalties for violent acts committed against healthcare personnel, there is currently no federal law protecting hospital employees from assault or intimidation.
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Nursing Homes Reject CMS’ Proposed Staffing Level Requirements
CMS released a proposed rule to establish staffing standards among the nation’s nursing homes. Reactions have been mixed — but mainly negative. Long-term care facilities say that they can neither find nor afford more workers. On the other hand, some lawmakers argue the proposed rule doesn’t do enough to protect care quality for patients. As for labor unions, they seem generally happy with the rule.
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Payer’s Place: Dawn Maroney
Dawn Maroney, President, Markets of Alignment Health and CEO of Alignment Health Plan, to discuss how they are using technology to provide better service and care to consumers.
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‘This Is Almost Biblical in Its Impact’: Providers Push Back Against CMS’ New Proposed Rules
CMS recently revealed its proposals to raise reimbursement rates for hospital outpatient departments and cut payments for physicians. Next year, the agency is planning to decrease physicians’ pay by 1.25% and increase outpatient payment rates by 2.8%. Provider groups are unhappy with the news — AMA President Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld said the new physician fee schedule will be “almost biblical in its impact.”
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AHA: High-deductible, Short-term Health Plans To Blame for Medical Debt
Of the more than 15% of American adults who have past-due medical debt, about 73% owe some or all of the money to hospitals, according to a recent Urban Institute report. The American Hospital Association said short-term limited duration health plans and high-deductible health plans are to blame.
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Medicare Needs to Pay for Some of Hospitals’ Discharge Delays, AHA Says
Hospitals are struggling to discharge patients in a timely manner, according to the American Hospital Association. This is often because there are no available spots for patients being transferred to outpatient facilities. To remedy the increased costs hospitals face as a result of this issue, an AHA exec said Medicare should establish a temporary per diem payment for cases in which a patient is ready for discharge but is unable to be discharged appropriately.
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AHA: 78% of Hospitals Say Experience With Commercial Insurers Is Worsening
Less than 1% of hospitals and health systems said their relationship is improving and the rest said it has stayed the same. The American Hospital Association specifically called out commercial insurers for their practices on prior authorization and claims denials and delays.
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AHA: Legislative action needed to prevent MA plans from harming Medicare beneficiaries
AHA’s report comes after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act, which would establish several requirements for the prior authorization process under MA plans. But AHA believes additional action is needed by the government.
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Senior healthcare advocates applaud House passage of MA prior authorization bill
The bill sets requirements relating to the prior authorization process for Medicare Advantage plans. The House’s decision is supported by several healthcare advocacy organizations, including Better Medicare Alliance and the American Hospital Association. AHIP, however, neither criticized nor celebrated the passage.
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Report: Rising patient acuity will force hospitals to rethink care delivery models
The length of stay for adult inpatients is expected to rise by 8% over the next decade, driven by an increase in chronic conditions, according to a report released Tuesday by Vizient. The rise in acuity will exacerbate hospitals’ capacity constraints, so they may need to rethink their care delivery models and make investments in at-home care.
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Applying Remote Patient Monitoring to Surgery Prep and Recovery, Oncology and Women’s Health
Join us to learn about the latest trends in remote monitoring and how to extend its benefits beyond chronic conditions to more patients – all while using fewer staff resources.
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Provider groups back Hackensack Meridian Health, Englewood Health’s appeal against merger delay
The American Hospital Association and Association of American Medical Colleges have filed an amicus brief in support of the New Jersey health systems that are appealing a court decision to delay their merger following a legal challenge from the FTC.
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Effort underway to help hospitals by suspending Medicare sequestration
Medicare sequestration is making headlines this week, as legislation to pause the 2% payment cuts moves through Congress. Here is a recap of what the sequester cuts are, why hospitals want it gone and how lawmakers are working to make that happen.
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Hospitals to DOJ: UnitedHealth’s purchase of Change Healthcare will curtail competition
The American Hospital Association is urging the Justice Department to thoroughly review UnitedHealth’s intended acquisition of Change Healthcare. The transaction would reduce competition in the health IT arena and result in higher prices and lower quality of care, the hospital group says.
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Hospitals could lose $53B this year — and that’s in the best-case scenario
A new report from Kaufman Hall examines two potential financial situations for hospitals in 2021 — one optimistic, and the other bleak. Hospitals could lose between $53 billion and $122 billion depending on which scenario plays out.
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CMS to penalize hospitals, labs that don’t report Covid-19 data
New rules by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services would penalize hospitals and laboratories that don’t report Covid-19 data. Hospitals would be required to report the number of confirmed or suspected Covid-19 patient, occupied beds, and availability of ventilators and other critical supplies.
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Court upholds new price transparency rules. What’s next?
A district court judge ruled in favor of the Department of Health and Human Services’ price transparency rule, which would require hospitals to disclose negotiated rates with insurers, among other things. The case will likely be appealed, but experts shared what could happen if the rule goes into effect.
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Payer’s Place: Dr. Anil Singh
Dr. Anil Singh shares his insights into the strategies employed by the organization to identify the most effective digital solutions for their members.
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Discover the Next-Gen Platform for Integrated Collaborative Care
Beyond EHRs and digital front doors, reducing the gaps in patient care journeys.
