Reimbursement

According to a report released Friday by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, the ratings agency believes there could very likely be a net negative for for-profit hospitals with the full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

With the Supreme Court's decision on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expected by the end of this month, more and more policymakers, healthcare experts and stakeholders are becoming vocal about their predictions of the outcome.

At the recent HIMSS Virtual Conference and Expo, David Kendrick, MD, CEO of MyHealth Access Network, a Beacon Community, spoke on his experiences not just implementing a community HIE, but also streamlining costs and improving quality of care in the state of Oklahoma.

While payers across the country have launched a host of different forms of payment initiatives like ACOs and patient-centered medical homes, designed around some form of risk sharing, Washington-based Premera Blue Cross has found success via its unique payment model it calls Global Outcomes Contracting.

The California HealthCare Foundation and a group of innovators have released a technical prototype and road map for states and the federal government to create a health insurance exchange.

While many private payers across the country have rushed to launch payment initiatives wrapped around healthcare delivery models like ACOs and patient-centered medical homes, Washington-based Premera Blue Cross has found success via its unique payment model it calls Global Outcomes Contracting.

More Americans are hoping that the Supreme Court will spike the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) today than did prior to the oral arguments -- but only by a couple percentage points.

One of the government's goals is to align its priorities with the private sector, including the development of accountable care organizations, said Marilyn Tavenner, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in a keynote address Thursday at the Third National ACO Summit in Washington, D.C.

UnitedHealthcare announced this week the launch of myHealthcare Cost Estimator, an online tool that allows its members to search for quality healthcare providers while also providing them with a cost estimate for more than 100 different procedures.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced yesterday 45 commercial, state and federal insurers who will participate in the Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC) initiative, an effort to improve public health via an emphasis on primary care.