Reimbursement
Two medical bills arrived in the mail over the weekend. One requested $525 for a specialist office visit, another $250 for a routine colonoscopy at a hospital. Since I don't think we owe for either of these and the numbers are pretty big I decided to tackle them.
The Obama Administration released its proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2015 this week. Virtually all types of healthcare providers, health plans, and drug manufacturers would be impacted by the budget provisions if adopted as proposed - although that is an unlikely scenario.
Critical access hospitals in five states are facing a spring deadline to apply for participation in a federal program aiming to develop and test new models of integrated, coordinated healthcare in rural communities.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has a lot of data on Medicare Advantage plans that it should be using to inform policy and make available to the public, according to a new Inspector General report.
Aetna is partnering with one of the largest medical device makers in an experiment for struggling diabetic members and their doctors.
Colorado is moving ahead with an experiment for Medicare-Medicaid eligible beneficiaries, or "dual-eligibles," using a payment system many others are trying to abandon. But the state's approach incorporates a variation on the concept of the accountable care organization that's showing promise elsewhere.
A recent HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) report examines Medicare services provided during the Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) payment window – that is, the period when certain outpatient services related to an inpatient admission are considered to be included in the DRG payment.
Take note, hospitals: the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has recently announced modifications to the implementation of the controversial "2-Midnight" inpatient admissions policy, as well as releasing the preliminary federal disproportionate share hospital allotments for FY2014.
The overall market for angiography services should remain stable in the near future. But one long term growth trend to keep watch on is the shift towards improving prevention based on early identification, reducing risk factors, education and early intervention if necessary.
With the wellness movement reaching ever more workers, more advanced digital health and wearable technologies are going to be a necessity if the field is going to evolve and start making inroads, some argue.