Articles and Blogs

NATIONAL Pilot test will evaluate MACRA’s ability to reduce costs Telehealth laws expanded, updated in nearly every state House budget chairman wants to get rid of EMTALA Over 1,300 Hospitals Urge CMS to Withdraw 340B Drug Payment Cuts Regenstrief to evaluate how health information exchange impacts EDs More metropolitan areas are dominated by single... READ MORE

NATIONAL GOP, Dem senators push health deal as Trump keeps distance Kaufman Hall: Number of hospital mergers and acquisitions this year on pace to top 2016 Alexander-Murray Healthcare Bill: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know Trump appears to back further away from bipartisan health-care push Healthgrades: Hospital quality varies widely throughout the country... READ MORE

NATIONAL Survey: Healthcare execs name data analytics, population health among top challenges for 2018 10 Common Physician Compensation Mistakes Most hospitals tie doctor pay to productivity; new research examines how that impacts academic medicine Trump could make waves with health-care order CMS releases star ratings for Medicare Advantage and drug plans, Kaiser earns top... READ MORE

House and Senate Committees Advance CHIP Funding After Congress missed the September 30 deadline to renew funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”), both the House and Senate worked to advance bipartisan CHIP legislation this week. The Senate Finance Committee advanced a bill, known as the Keep Kids’ Insurance Dependable and Secure (“KIDS”)... READ MORE

NATIONAL Which ASC company has grown the most in 2017? Five questions on healthcare following Price’s resignation Pence protégé seen as frontrunner to replace Price Congress moves toward funding lapsed federal children’s health insurance program 3 things to know about HHS Acting Secretary Dr. Don Wright 18 things to know about the 6 CEOs... READ MORE

On September 6, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a Survey and Certification (“S&C”) Memo 17-44 with new guidance to State Survey Agencies pertaining to the application of the Medicare statutory definition of  “hospital” and whether a hospital is “primarily engaged” in the provision of inpatient services. CMS clarified that a... READ MORE

On September 13, 2017, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a $4 million settlement with a New York-based hospital owner that owns and operates two hospitals in New York. The qui tam lawsuit was filed July 15, 2013, and the relator was an employed physician at one of the hospitals implicated in the lawsuit... READ MORE

In Michigan, as in many other states, a nonprofit charitable organization must satisfy rigorous requirements to qualify for real and personal property tax exemptions. In Baruch SLS, Inc. v. Tittabawassee Twp., the Michigan Supreme Court recently upheld the landmark Wexford case while clarifying one of Wexford’s six factors to qualify for property tax exemptions. The... READ MORE

On September 30, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services notified hospitals participating in the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (“CJR”) model of certain reporting requirements related to financial sharing arrangements with CJR collaborators (i.e., physicians and other providers who work with CJR hospitals to improve quality and cost performance). The notice, which... READ MORE

NATIONAL Price to stop private plane use on business during review Evaluating the future of hospital acquisitions of private practices Senate Republicans Say They Will Not Vote on Health Bill Trump vows another healthcare vote next year, eyes executive order 4 financial, strategic and revenue cycle issues health systems are facing CMS postpones October... READ MORE