The HIPAA Security Rule requires covered entities and business associates to implement technical, physical, and administrative safeguards. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) required the HHS secretary to develop rules for safeguarding electronic protected health information (ePHI). Out of these requirements, HHS created the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the HIPAA Security […]
CMS released the fiscal year (FY) 2023 inpatient prospective payment system proposed rule with proposals for new calculations for FY 2023 rate setting. Although CMS is proposing to use FY 2021 data for FY 2023 Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Groups (MS-DRG) rate setting, the agency wants a modified methodology to account for the historical and potential […]
CMS issued its annual Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule for FY 2023 (the Proposed Rule). In the Proposed Rule, CMS proposes to update the IPPS and LTCH payment rates, modify the payment rules for direct graduate medical education (DGME) to comply with a recent […]
CMS is following a budget-neutral approach by implementing a permanent cap on negative wage index changes to smooth yearly payment impacts. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued a proposed rule updating hospice-based payments and the aggregate cap amount for fiscal year 2023. Hospices would see a 2.7%, or $580 million, increase in […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Medicare Advantage plans expanded their supplemental benefits offerings in 2022, with more health plans offering special supplemental benefits for the chronically ill (SSBCI), according to an issue brief commissioned by Better Medicare Alliance. Medicare beneficiaries typically join Medicare Advantage plans because of the array of supplemental benefits that the program offers in addition to traditional […]
Although health plans aim to promote value-based care with prior authorization requirements, providers and patients may experience negative repercussions from the process. Prior authorization negatively impacted patients and providers alike by leading to care delays for patients and creating administrative burden for physicians, according to a survey from the American Medical Association (AMA). Health plans […]










