Kelsey Brimmer

With so many reimbursement considerations to think about with the transition to ICD-10, such as reduced cash flow and an increase in denials and audits, the best defense for healthcare systems is to know what to expect and begin preparing for the changes now.

For many small, community stand-alone health systems across the country, eventually merging with another larger healthcare organization remains a distinct possibility. Until that day arrives though -- if it does at all -- these organizations must continue to focus their efforts on meeting the quality care needs of the local community.

With the remaining provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) going into effect in less than a year, employers are trying to prepare for how the law will impact health plan enrollment and cost.

Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access (SNHPA), the group that represents hospitals in the federal 340B discount drug program, recently asked pharmaceutical manufacturer Amgen to withdraw its new policy that all 340B purchases of the company's drug Neulasta be made exclusively through specialty distribution channels.

Summa Health System and Catholic Health Partners are on the road to becoming accountable care organizations, and they're sharing what they've learned with attendees of the Healthcare Financial Management Association's ANI 2013 conference taking place next week in Orlando, Fla.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) announced Tuesday a competition to improve consumer understanding and use of data comparing hospital prices but the results could also be of use to hospitals.

Nonprofit hospitals in California are facing the possibility of having to prove they provide the necessary amount of charity care to justify their tax-exempt status.

The bidding war to purchase Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. ended last week when its current owner, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (SCL) Health System in Denver, announced it plans to sell the hospital to another Catholic chain, Providence Health & Services, located in southern California.

According to the results of a study published Tuesday in Annals of Emergency Medicine, disabled Medicare patients under age 65 who are unable to take their prescription medications due to cost concerns are more likely to visit the emergency department at least once during the course of a year.

Last week, Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas announced an agreement to pay a $1.4 million settlement to the United States Department of Justice over Medicare and Medicaid fraud allegations.