Reimbursement

Rule affects 3,330 acute care hospitals, 430 long-term care hospitals.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in what could be a precedent-setting case stemming from the death of a Massachusetts teen after treatment at a Universal Health Services-owned facility. The case, referred to as Universal Health Services v United States ex rel. Escobar, was brought by the teen's parents against Universal Health Services, the largest owner of psychiatric hospitals and clinics in the United States.

The more than 1,500 healthcare providers taking part in the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative may extend their participation in Models 2, 3 and 4 through September 30, 2018, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Third-party nonprofits promising scientific and transparent drug value assessments are gaining ground in healthcare, even as many drug manufacturers are challenging their methodologies, according to new research by the Health Research Institute.

Pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Boston to pay $125 million to resolve criminal and civil liability stemming from the illegal promotion of various drugs including Actonel, Asacol, Atelvia, Doryx, Enablex, Estrace, Loestrin and various formulations of these drugs, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Friday.

Accountable care organizations that participated in the first full year of Medicare Shared Savings saw early reductions in spending that eroded a year later, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

While support for the provisions of the ACA are on the rise, along with a willingness to let the law work instead of repealing it, individual opinions are more strongly influenced by party identification and their trust in government.

Despite the drive towards value-based payment models, physicians are bringing in $1.56 million each in inpatient and outpatient fee-for-service revenue to hospitals, according to a survey by AMN Healthcare subsidiary Merritt-Hawkins, a slight increase of $112,230 over 2013.

Marketplace premiums rose by 8 percent last year, well below the double-digit rise predicted by some observers of Obamacare, according to a Department of Health and Human Services report released Tuesday.

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 requires most health plans to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment benefits that are at least as generous as the plan's benefits for medical and surgical care.