Jeff Lagasse

Just because it's hard to achieve a payer mix that better supports a health system's bottom line, it's not impossible.

A group of more than 2,000 physicians is calling for the creation of a publicly financed, single-payer national health program that would cover all Americans for all medically necessary care. The physicians voiced their support in a proposal published Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health.

Consultants hired by the health system that owns Nantucket Cottage Hospital in Massachusetts made several errors that led to lower wages being reported to Medicare for the hospital, which could potentially lead to a $160 million drop in federal Medicare payments over the next fiscal year for facilities across the state.

While surgical screws or sponges can cost a hospital less than a penny each, when a surgeon accentially leaves one of these behind in a patient's body the mistake can cost both patientsa and healthcare providers dearly.

Sacred Heart Health System, a member of Catholic nonprofit health system Ascension, is raising money for a new, four-story children's hospital in Pensacola, Florida, the system has announced.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced Wednesday that over $260 million in funding will be dispensed to 290 health centers in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The funds are primarily for facility renovation, expansion, or construction.

A new study by the CVS Health Research Institute found that home infusion care is safe, clinically effective and improves quality of life; and when it's compared to infusion care delivered in a hospital or clinic, it may also reduce healthcare costs.

Nursing home that either merged or were acquired by major chains between 1993 and 2010 had more health deficiency citations than independent ones, according to a study published Monday in Health Affairs, though researchers said facilities that sold to chains were already struggling with quality issues.

Proposed regulations released last week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are raising concerns that the playing field is uneven, with 87 percent of solo practitioners getting penalized and 81 percent of clinicians in large groups earning bonuses, according to some estimates.

Florida Hospital has seen significant improvements in its case mix index, resulting in a $72.5 million increase in appropriate reimbursement since the implementation of a clinical documentation improvement program.