Henry Powderly

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will lift the rate it pays inpatient hospitals in 2016 by 0.9 percent, the agency announced Friday, as long as facilities participate in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program and demonstrate meaningful use through the use of electronic health records.

According to UHS, which manage 226 acute care hospitals, behavioral health facilities and ambulatory surgery centers, same-hospital admissions jumped by 5.7 percent in the quarter and patient days climbed by 5.2 percent, both on an adjusted basis.

In addition to the payment change, CMS said it will begin penalizing skilled nursing facilities in 2018 that fail to report quality measures as part of the agency's shift towards value-based reimbursement.

The 450-bed North Kansas City Hospital said it has partnered with CarePayment to offer patients financing options to deal with ballooning out-of-pocket costs.

The U.S. Department of Defense on Wednesday awarded a $4.3 billion contract to a team lead by Cerner, Leidos and Accenture to manage the military's electronic health records systems, a deal that is expected to hit $9 billion once all costs are accounted for.

Medicare Part D prescription drug plan premiums will hold flat at $32.50 a month in 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced on Wednesday, despite ballooning costs for the federal program.

New York-based investment firm Deerfield Management on Wednesday said it has launched a $550 million healthcare venture capital fund to support companies developing advancements for treating genetic diseases, cancer and orphan diseases, as well as to support tech companies creating new therapeutic devices.

EveryICD10 has been sharing a new ICD-10 code and description on the social media platform by the minute since July 9, when it first tweeted, "E73.8 Other lactose intolerance #icd10."

U.S. healthcare spending is expected to grow by 5.8 percent through 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said on Tuesday, driven by the rise of expensive specialty drugs and higher insured rates under the Affordable Care Act.

At the same time, enrollment in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program is just under 72 million.