Mary Mosquera
Patients are responsible for nearly one-quarter of their medical bill on average through the cost of co-pays, deductibles and co-insurance, according to the latest National Health Insurer Report Card from the American Medical Association (AMA).
MedPAC has found that hospitals with a large portion of low-income patients also have higher readmission rates, and, therefore, higher penalties under Medicare's hospital readmissions reduction program. That imbalance was one of the reasons that MedPAC, in its annual June report to Congress, has recommended that Medicare modify its readmissions reduction policy.
Payers and employers are demonstrating that wellness programs can curb increases in healthcare costs and improve workforce productivity as employees become more involved in their health. Health plans shared their programs and results during a session on Thursday at the 2013 AHIP Institute in Las Vegas.
Healthcare experts differ on the benefits of provider consolidation to help reduce costs but agree that most healthcare organizations are moving forward with reform through innovation, and consolidation may be just a step in that direction.
One of the toughest challenges in the transition to ICD-10 is engaging physicians in the process and building a collaborative infrastructure. That's the focus of the education session, Preparing and motivating physicians for the ICD-10 challenge, on Sunday, June 16, at the Healthcare Financial Management Association's ANI 2013 conference in Orlando, Fla.
More employers are considering adopting strategies that will help them be more efficient in the way they pay for healthcare services to slow rising costs, according to new survey data from human resources consulting firm Aon Hewitt.
A report from Premier healthcare alliance has found that commercial payers do not offer as many of the upside-only payment arrangements for shared savings that are popular among early accountable care organizations (ACOs) as public payers do.
Executives at pharmaceutical and life sciences companies report that obtaining a sufficient budget for new products is one of the top challenges facing their new product teams, according to a study from Cutting Edge Information.
As the country gets ready for the roll out of the major components of the Affordable Care Act, stakeholders can look to Massachusetts, where healthcare reform was enacted seven years ago. The second installment of PwC Health Research Institute's The Massachusetts Experience, released Thursday, provides analysis on the effects of rapid insurance coverage expansion on health payers and providers in the state.
For innovators, the experience at the typical industry conference exhibit hall is usually focused on selling their newly designed products and services.