Reimbursement

An interim final rule adopting electronic funds transfer (EFT) standards has been finalized announced the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week.

Changing the method for how CMS adjusts payments to reflect regional variations in the cost of care as recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) can help ensure payment accuracy, but would do little to tackle the broader issues of access to care and care quality.

No matter how healthcare reform shakes out in the short term, reimbursement reductions and shifts in demand are likely to lead to 15 to 25 percent declines in hospital revenue yields in the next decade, according to Booz & Company modeling.

Forming partnerships with insurance companies is somewhat new, but as more health systems are venturing into a teamwork role, impressive improvements are being seen.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has recognized 60 primary care practices with the title of "Distinction" for their commitment to engaging patients.

Humana has partnered with New York-based accelerator program Blueprint Health to help spur the development of new and innovative healthcare IT projects.

There are plenty of unknowns concerning the financial aspects of ICD-10. Transitioning to the new codes could be a disaster for some providers. However, those who take into careful consideration their current clinical documentation and coding shortfalls and adjust them for ICD-10 specificity could see an entirely different outcome.

HealthEdge, a software provider that helps healthcare payers by focusing on claim processing benefit administration, business intelligence and portals, released the results of its latest State of the Payor survey:

When Barack Obama was a candidate for president, he endorsed universal health insurance, but opposed forcing individuals to buy their own insurance.

Overall, U.S. healthcare prices were steady in June, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.