by Daniel Grauman, Director & CEO & Idette Elizondo, Manager
HFM Blog
January 2014
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If you’re already participating in or thinking about a new payment model, you’ve probably seen that the pundits insist you must have a full IT infrastructure in place before you push the button on these initiatives. Whether it’s a Medicare accountable care organization (ACO), bundled payment, an ACO-like arrangement for a payer’s Medicare Advantage or […]
by John Harris, Director & Stu Schaff, Manager
HFM Blog
December 2014
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It’s easy to get swept up in merger mania. Many industry observers see rapid consolidation with no end in sight. In fact, a recent report by one major consulting firm posited that only about half of the current health systems will be left standing in 10 years. This conclusion was supported by analyses from […]
by Karin Chernoff Kaplan, Director
HFM Blog
May 2014
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Many hospitals, physician groups, and consultants use published physician compensation surveys as one way to set compensation levels and limits and ensure that compensation is within fair market value. Although the data in these published surveys can be valuable, these data also, unfortunately, are easy to misapply, resulting in compensation that does not meet fair […]
by Karin Chernoff Kaplan, Director
HFM Blog
May 2015
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The transformation to a value-based healthcare system is underway, as is the spread of programs that pay physicians for improving the quality of care. Whether called value-based payment, paying for quality, or pay-for-performance, such programs are becoming a more significant aspect of compensation for employed physicians and in co-management agreements—but they are not always used […]
by John M. Harris, Director & Idette Elizondo, Manager
HFM Blog
October 2014
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The number of physician-led ACOs is growing faster than the number of hospital-physician ACOs. Increasing numbers of physician groups are evaluating bundled payment arrangements. Payers are working directly with physicians on patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs). It appears that physician-led accountable care initiatives are here to stay. In some markets, physician-led networks may compete successfully by […]
by Dan Grauman, Director & CEO & Katherine Cwiek, Manager
HFM Blog
July 2015
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Consolidation in the healthcare industry is well-established and moving full-steam ahead. There were an average of 100 hospital transactions per year between 2011 and 2014, compared with 60 per year in the preceding four-year period.a More than 60 percent of U.S. hospitals are now part of a health system.b In most major metropolitan areas, the […]
by John Harris, Director & Idette Elizondo, Manager
HFM Blog
March 2013
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The pilot phase of the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative has attracted 467 participants, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). The great majority of these organizations will probably continue to participate when the performance period begins around July. BPCI offers these organizations an opportunity to learn how to better […]
by John Harris, Director & Karin Chernoff Kaplan, Director
HFM Blog
September 2013
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Of the 41,000 physicians in the 2013 MGMA Physician Compensation and Production Survey, 56 percent are employed by hospitals or health systems, compared with 42 percent in the 2010 survey. Conventional wisdom is that the remaining physicians will rapidly join the ranks of the employed. However, hospitals and physicians can explore many types of relationships […]
HSS Blog
August 2014
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Clinically Integrated Networks (CINs) and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are vehicles for evolved forms of capitation that include value-based and risk sharing performance incentives, unlike past reimbursement models which focused primarily on utilization (see Figure below). Both aggregate and align providers, but differ in types of payors. ACOs are paid by Medicare and/or Medicaid, while CINs have commercial insurers. […]
by Daniel M. Grauman, Managing Director & CEO
HFM Blog
August 2015
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As the temperature topped 98 degrees on the East Coast last month, I was reminded of the “deal heat” we often witness in healthcare transactions. Sometimes the intensity of negotiating deal terms can cause participants to lose perspective on the big picture. In our last post, we discussed the hot trends in hospital and insurer consolidation, […]