Policy and Legislation
CMS' Pioneer Accountable Care Organization Model requires a degree of patience that many of the participating organizations couldn't afford, as evidenced by the recent announcement that nine are leaving the program.
Community Health Systems has reduced its second quarter earnings forecast and announced it has received another subpoena related to an ongoing Department of Justice investigation into the hospital operator's admissions practices.
It's not surprising that the average person is pretty confused about the Affordable Care Act. It's a complex piece of legislation that gets phased in gradually, and opponents have been attacking the law and intentionally confusing people while proponents have been less effective about getting the word out.
Driven in no small part by the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare industry needs a solution that coordinates and unifies providers and payers across the entire care continuum. At least one clear answer to that challenge has emerged: Medicaid Health Homes.
From the financial pangs at the pointy ends of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to the frustrations and economic hardships courtesy of health information technology (HIT), a new physician outlook survey reveals the top challenges and concerns of physicians today.
One would think, given the title of the CMS press release, "Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations succeed in improving care, lowering costs," that the first year of the advanced ACO program was an across-the-board roaring success. But upon closer examination, the report card would appear to be rather checkered.
A year into the Pioneer ACOs program and participating organizations are already showing reductions in costs and improvements in care, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Tuesday.
More than half of private companies are finding themselves ahead of the government's employer insurance requirements now that the Treasury Department has delayed compliance until 2015.
Insurer WellPoint will pay a $1.7 million fine to the federal government to settle potential HIPAA violations, announced the Health and Human Services Department said late Thursday.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' 2014 proposed rules for the hospital outpatient prospective system, released earlier this week, offer payment increases and "packaging" of services.