Reimbursement

Bundled payments represent a new and increasingly accepted form of reimbursement. They can work now, if applied in modest, manageable ways from which lessons can be learned and applied more broadly later.

Hospital ownership of physician practices appears to lead to statistically and economically significant increases in hospital prices and spending, according to a recent study published in Health Affairs. But that doesn't mean providers should retreat from integration and tighter alignment.

The breakthrough hepatitis drug Sovaldi has sparked a vigorous debate about the financial sustainability of U.S. healthcare and the role of government in regulating prices.

A challenge to a Blue Cross company's recoupment practices has ended in victory for a group of chiropractors and with a favorable precedent for providers who want to appeal the decisions of certain health plans.

In an era of increasing consolidation, some insurers are taking a slightly different route on the health reform journey.

Medicare may be overpaying hospitals an estimated $5 billion as a result of the 18-month moratorium on enforcing the controversial two-midnight rule that tells hospitals when patients should be admitted, according to an independent Medicare auditing company.

While majorities of healthcare providers see value-based payment models becoming the reimbursement status quo in coming years, fewer than one-in-three say the reward is worth the risk.

Consumer concerns about new health plan networks continue, with two new members suing over a preferred provider network they say was deceitfully marketed.

As a payer and provider and the country's largest managed care organization with a lot of digital and online patient data, Kaiser Permanente has tried to address privacy and security head-on, and may pave a way for others.

As part of a contract extension with Tenet Healthcare, Cigna has established a first of its kind quality-based reimbursement agreement.