Humans are creatures of habit — one need not look further than our daily routines in the morning to confirm this.
When one looks at the healthcare market, it is clear that merger and acquisition activity among hospitals is high. However, for many hospitals considering some form of a transaction, a merger or acquisition may be a relatively foreign strategy to pursue. This is particularly true for smaller, community hospitals.
The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 created the Recovery Audit Contractor Program to reduce improper Medicare payments, and since its inception, the program has collected more than $2.5 billion in overpayments, as of August 2012.
With just one year remaining before the largest parts of the federal health reform law take effect, 2013 will be a busy year for hospitals as they prepare for the biggest changes in healthcare since Medicare was introduced in 1965.
FEWER PHYSICIANS are willing to accept Medicaid patients today, as the reimbursement rates continue to decline. State and federal policies are attempting to remedy the problem with additional funding, particularly for primary care. – See more at: http://managedhealthcareexecutive.modernmedicine.com/managed-healthcare-executive/news/temporary-medicaid-fee-hike-could-come-back-haunt-plans#sthash.BnJ1MKFC.dpuf
Sometime during the next two to four years, the transition to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) will allow corporations, banks, accounting firms and other financial houses around the world to all speak the same language when discussing the bottom line. Read the article in it’s entirety.
Expanding outpatient services, beefing up physician ranks and improving quality are key priorities for Sonia Mehta, who acknowledges that her new job as CEO of Chicago’s Loretto Hospital won’t be easy. An internist who trained at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Dr. Mehta takes the reins of a 187-bed safety-net hospital on the West Side that aims to survive and thrive in an industry rife with consolidation as insurance carriers and government programs pressure providers to reduce costs.
In an election season where undecided voters were courted like last chance prom dates and political rhetoric was at an all time high (or low depending on your point of view), the growing number of voters who just wanted the election to be over included an unlikely, but massive block of businesses: health insurers.