Budgeting

Healthcare Finance News talked to Debra Miller, director of health policy for the Council of State Governments, about the top five health policy issues states are focused on in 2014.

If you haven't figured out an ICD-10 transition budget yet, it may be too late. But it's a good idea to get a handle on what it will cost you. Better late then never.

Hospitals in the state of Maine are bracing for an uncertain future in 2014. Maine is one of 23 states not planning on expanding Medicaid this year.

While certain key generic drugs will take billions in drug costs out of the healthcare system in the next 3 to 4 years, this anticipated decline in spending is masking the growth of specialty drug costs.

Ten years ago, executives at MaineGeneral Health, a rural healthcare system consisting of several acute care hospitals, physician practices, outpatient facilities and homecare services in central Maine, knew they had a decision to make regarding two of their facilities: they could upgrade their buildings or start from scratch.

MaineGeneral Health's cutting-edge new hospital regionalizes healthcare for the area.

With the closing of 2013 and arrival of 2014, it is a time to look ahead at a few of the industry trends we can expect in the upcoming 12 months.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services intends to finalize the Medicaid Federal Upper payment Limits (FULs) for multiple source drugs in July 2014. This will mean less drug price variance for state Medicaid programs.

Since undocumented immigrants can't participate in the healthcare insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act, millions of foreign-born residents will be excluded, leaving hospitals to continue to pick up the cost of their care.

By noting potential industry headwinds in credit rating agencies' median reports, hospitals can attempt to stay one step ahead of the ever-changing landscape when trying to navigate these difficult times.