The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) released an assessment of possible and/or upcoming policy changes under the new administration. We have been waiting for HFMA to speak on ramifications to the non-insurance side of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), so we welcome the report and provide a portion of it here. The new secretaries […]
Veralon Views Blog
The Veralon Views blog is an extension of our partnership with leaders who are transforming the healthcare industry. Here, we share expert perspectives from our nationally recognized senior consulting team on issues that are key to the success of your organization.
(Originally published in Nasdaq’s MarketInsite and written by Gordon Clark, President and CEO of iProtean, now part of Veralon) The volunteer board members of not-for-profit hospitals and health systems are smart, prominent and accomplished people drawn from the community. Yet, our research shows only 27 percent of hospital and health system board members feel they […]
Modern Healthcare recently released a report on “cyberdefense,” and because this is a timely topic of interest to our subscribers, we present excerpts from the report below. A link to the full article appears at the end of this blog/newsletter. “Cybersecurity platforms that employ advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive analytics […]
A recent American Hospital Association study reported that uncompensated care costs (UCC) in 2015 were the smallest share of hospital costs (4.2 percent of total expenses) in at least 25 years. The $35.7 billion in 2015 UCC was the lowest amount since 2007. (Uncompensated Hospital Care Cost Fact Sheet, American Hospital Association, December 2016) […]
Both Democrats and Republicans recognize the overwhelming need to control healthcare expenses while maintaining and improving quality of care. Under the Obama administration, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) pledged that by 2018, half of traditional Medicare payments would be based on value-based payment models that incentivize high quality, low cost care as […]
Urgent care is in the investor spotlight. Private equity, venture capital, health insurers, and health systems all want a piece of it, and transaction activity in the industry is high. Despite this flurry of activity, the industry remains largely fragmented, and the size and nature of urgent care companies varies dramatically. This variation, as well […]
In the final days of 2016, CMS finalized new mandatory bundled payment models for cardiac and orthopedic care, set to launch this year. The final rule also made several modest adjustments to the existing Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model (finalized in late 2015 and currently underway). The final rule is published in the […]
Moody’s Investors Service recently released two of its Sector-in-Depth reports that may be of interest to our subscribers. One focuses on how quality-based reimbursement affects financial performance, and the second discusses hospitals’ issuing debt to fund pensions. Brief summaries appear below. The full reports will be published with our next course in January. Financial […]
Moody’s Investors Service 2017 Outlook for not-for-profit and public healthcare predicts stability over the next 12 to 18 months. Its analysts base projections on 0 to 1 percent operating cash flow growth and solid patient volume and revenue growth. Technology and operational investments, however, will continue to bring pressure on hospitals and systems. […]
Despite the attention being given to potential repeal of the Accountable Care Act, we can be reasonably certain that some aspects of health care reform are unlikely to be overhauled anytime soon—or possibly, at all. Among these is the shift to and emphasis on value-based payment, with its focus on providing high quality care in […]