Reimbursement
Pay-for-performance programs, which reward doctors for quality care and patient outcomes, may not be improving patient care, according to a new study.
New reimbursement models driven by healthcare reform top the list of healthcare provider predictions for 2011 from IDC Health Insights analysts Judy Hanover and Lynn Dunbrack.
The government's healthcare fraud prevention and enforcement efforts recovered more than $4 billion in taxpayer dollars for the Medicare, Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program in 2010, the largest sum ever recovered in a single year, according to findings published in the government's Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program report.
The Office of the Inspector General has reported that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' policy of prepayment to Medicare Advantage plans allowed the private insurers to earn and retain more than $450 million in interest income in 2007.
Perceptive Software, based in Shawnee, Kan., has announced that Memorial Hospital and Manor in Bainbridge, Ga., is deploying the company's ImageNow document management, imaging and workflow solution in its medical records and registration departments.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced that 3 million Medicare beneficiaries have saved money on prescription medications as a result of the Affordable Care Act, via $250 rebate checks mailed to beneficiaries in the so-called "doughnut hole" coverage gap.
Texas lawmakers under Republican leadership unveiled a budget proposal this week to cover the years 2012-2013 that would cut Medicaid reimbursements to long-term care facilities by 33 percent and payments to hospitals by 10 percent.
UnitedHealth Group executives said healthcare information technology helped drive the insurer's strong showing in 2010, with a reported $84.2 billion in revenues, up by 8 percent year over year.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has proposed a two-year project targeting the barriers Medicaid providers face in meeting meaningful use requirements in order to receive federal incentives.
A survey of almost 3,000 physicians indicates 65 percent are worried that healthcare reform would result in less pay for them and lower the quality of care for their patients.