Physician movement and competition for top talent has caused an “upward spike” in physician payment, according to Merritt Hawkins, a healthcare recruitment firm. The firm’s data from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016 show a surge in compensation increases among 19 of 20 specialties it tracks. Merritt Hawkins has conducted an annual review […]
Smaller accountable care organization (ACO) officials wrote comments to CMS noting that some provisions of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) could hurt the viability of smaller ACOs. The proposed rule, MACRA, will split physicians into those paid under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and those paid annual […]
CMS issued a final rule last week that will allow accountable care organizations (ACOs) to benchmark their results to regional Medicare spending, using a phased approach to incorporating regional fee-for-service (FFS) expenditures into calculations for resetting, adjusting, and updating an ACO’s rebased historical benchmark after an initial three-year agreement period. National benchmarks will continue […]
CMS will allow primary care practices in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) to participate in the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) initiative. The announcement came in response to stakeholder concerns that a new Medicare primary care payment model could steer physicians away from accountable care organizations. Up to 1,500 eligible primary care practices […]
Note: iProtean, now part of Veralon editorial staff will be on holiday next week, celebrating Memorial Day. Look for the next blog/newsletter June 1. Enjoy the holiday! The uninsured rated dropped from a high of 16.3 percent in 2010, the year the Affordable Care Act was enacted, to 9.1 percent in 2015, according to […]
The financial profiles of US not-for-profit hospitals are stronger than they were three years ago, says Moody’s Investors Service vice president Daniel Steingart. In his summary in Healthcare Quarterly, Steingart notes that “stronger financial footing will undoubtedly help hospitals mitigate the headwinds associated with changing and more stringent reimbursement models.” (“Not-For-Profit Hospitals: Financially Stronger as […]
Moody’s Investors Service reported a continuation of “favorable operating performance” for not-for-profit and public hospitals, citing its preliminary FY 2015 medians. “Strong revenue growth and strengthening profitability margins are due to gains in insurance coverage, volume increases, improved revenue cycle, expense management and the stabilizing of changes implemented by the Affordable Care Act (ACA),” […]
The blog this week is from John Harris, DGA Partners. As health providers adapt to health reform and an increasingly competitive marketplace, strategic responses are starting to come into focus. Some say there will be one successful model, but we are seeing diverse strategies, and the threat of disruption from niche players. Health […]