Capital markets, which have been relatively stable over the last several years, have begun a slow but consistent rise in interest rates. This means healthcare organizations should prepare for a higher cost of capital. The outlook becomes confusing, however, because of “recent significant policy developments” from the current congress and administration, notes the author […]
No Medicaid lifetime limits and a hard stance on ACO risk contracts highlighted CMS head Seema Verma’s talk at the American Hospital Association’s recent annual meeting. “We’re determined to make sure that Medicaid remains the safety net for those who need it most,” Verma said. “To that end, we have determined we will not approve […]
As the healthcare market expands and evolves, the inherent risks also are increasing. These risks include: The shift from volume to value The rise of the consumer and expansion of consumer options New payment models Mobile strategies New entrants An aging population Continued political and regulatory uncertainty Whereas hospitals/systems have traditionally done well at […]
Veralon’s health system clients have achieved significant savings using Quanto to identify value-based improvement targets and provide the financial management reports to manage to those targets; client savings have varied from over $1 million to $13 million. Quanto was developed by Veralon and by Health Data Innovations, a leader in healthcare data integration. We partnered to make […]
Several deal-tracking companies reported an increase in hospital transactions in the first quarter of 2018—from 25 to 36 transactions depending on the tracking company. All noted it’s the second highest number of quarterly transactions in the last 10 years. Transactions included: For-profit divestures Mega mergers worth more than $1 billion Announced transactions involving teaching […]
A high volume of mergers and acquisitions between and among hospitals and health systems continue to dominate the healthcare landscape, with an increasing number of transactions anticipated in 2018.1 The benefits of consolidation are well known: Enhanced access to care and increased market share by providing specialty or subspecialty physician coverage previously unavailable or by […]
When hospitals merge or enter into transactions, or a larger health system acquires a hospital, due diligence becomes a step to the process. During due diligence, an organization can “look under the hood,” if you will, and take a very deep dive into the operations of a hospital to identify any significant red flags that […]
Earlier this month, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted to cut reimbursement for some freestanding emergency rooms in urban areas. Industry analysts warned that the cuts could undermine access to care. Freestanding emergency departments receive Medicare payments equal to hospital emergency departments even though they have lower standby costs than on-campus emergency rooms, […]
Many hospitals are finding themselves in discussions with physician specialists regarding compensation for emergency department (ED) call coverage. An increasing number of physicians are paid for this coverage, and information on these payments is becoming more widely available to physicians in the form of published surveys and conversations with fellow physicians. While healthcare finance leaders […]
Continuing with excerpts from recent interviews with our experts, Marian Jennings and Nate Kaufman talked about moving from volume to value, and what that means to them. Interviewer: What is Value? Nate Kaufman: Value relates to the fact that the benefits being provided are worth the cost. The question that a healthcare provider […]