From 2021 to 2030, national healthcare spending will return to its steady upward growth as the unusual impacts of the coronavirus pandemic dissipate. CMS has released its projections for national healthcare spending from 2021 to 2030, noting that healthcare as a share of the gross domestic product (GDP) will remain comparable to the share […]
Spring brings Coding Clinic Guidance. Spring has sprung, and that brings the first American Hospital Association (AHA) Coding Clinic on ICD-10-CM/PCS issue of 2022. There are a wide range of topics and guidance. Now that we are receiving biannual coding updates, we begin April this year with some new codes, and some changes that are […]
Medicare Advantage beneficiaries who received care under value-based payment models, including two-sided risk models, saw lower acute care use than beneficiaries under a fee-for-service model. Medicare Advantage beneficiaries whose primary care organization participated in a value-based payment model saw lower rates of hospitalizations, observation stays, and emergency department visits, according to a study published in […]
Office visits represented 48 percent of all telehealth services used in the first year of the pandemic, making it the service most accessed via telehealth, federal data shows. Medicare beneficiaries most often used telehealth for office visits in 2020, receiving 54.5 million virtual office visits in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to […]
The American Medical Association urged congressional leaders to lift the freeze on Medicare physician payments and provide updates that reflect inflation and practice costs. Following a recent Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) report, the American Medical Association (AMA) has asked Congress to update the Medicare physician payment system to include a stable annual payment rate […]
Through the online price transparency tool, users can view hospital service prices and assess machine-readable file completeness. A healthcare technology company has launched an online price transparency tool that allows consumers to compare hospital costs before seeking care. Turquoise Health’s Price Transparency Scorecard lets consumers find prices by searching for specific services or providers. The […]
One-third of hospitals across the country offered telestroke services, but less than 40 percent submitted Medicare telestroke claims in the year before the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act, Medicare claims for telestroke services increased in rural and urban emergency departments. However, there was still substantial underbilling from hospitals with […]
CMS encouraged Medicare Advantage plans to waive prior authorizations during the public health emergency, but AHA urged the agency to make it a requirement instead of a suggestion. The American Hospital Association (AHA) has asked CMS to work with Congress and require Medicare Advantage plans to waive prior authorization processes during the current and future […]
Proper funding can help your practice to rise above some challenges. 9 Challenges funding can help your medical practice overcome Medical practice funding is often best used to support growth initiatives that will increase your practice’s revenue—thus increasing the chance that you’ll be able to pay off your loan on time. However, sometimes medical practices […]
There are barriers to telehealth adoption that physicians must overcome to realize the technology’s promise. Telehealth clearly has crossed a threshold of acceptance and now is viewed by physicians, payers and patients as an essential part of healthcare. It’s no surprise Fortune Business Insights predicts the telehealth market will reach $636.4 billion by 2027. […]