Health Leaders Media

Hospitals in states that opt not to expand Medicaid are at a severe disadvantage to their counterparts in other states, not only because they will miss out on additional Medicaid-based reimbursement, but also because they will face the same cuts in disproportionate share funding as everyone else.

The role of navigators, expected to help millions of uninsured make their way through the health insurance market, came under fire Tuesday by members of Congress who raised questions about oversight and the role of the IRS in the implementation of healthcare reform.

Doctors in the emergency department are the major decision makers in nearly half of all hospital admissions, giving them a significant role in controlling healthcare costs, research shows.

The now transparent federal database of hospital prices could motivate hospital financial assistance offices to write more flexible policies for collecting from uninsured, underinsured, and Medicare Advantage patients.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is having little effect on workforce strategies, employer survey data shows. More than two-thirds of employers say they will continue to provide healthcare coverage when health insurance exchanges begin operation in 2014.

A survey of hospital CFOs shows primary care physicians generated a combined average of $1,566,165 for their affiliated hospitals in the last year. Other specialties generated a combined annual average of $1,424,917, the lowest average in five years, data shows.

The second round of federal Health Care Innovation Awards specifically seeks clinical models that will quickly shrink Medicare costs and improve care for populations with special needs as well as population health.

Not knowing a patient's wishes for end-of-life care can lead to expensive and sometimes unwanted medical interventions. Gundersen Health System is trying to change that, by embracing a conversation around end-of-life care that is not about dying.

Music at loud decibels can contribute to miscommunication among surgeons and nurses in the operating room, raising the risk of medical error, researchers say.

Marilyn Tavenner, a former nurse, hospital executive, and state health official, is the first Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services head to gain congressional approval since 2004. The full Senate confirmed her nomination with a 91-7 vote.

How much of a threat does organized labor pose to healthcare organizations? Hospital and health system leaders weigh in on the sensitive issue, which ranked among their top three concerns in our most recent industry survey.

A tax expert describes how forgiving medical debts that a healthcare provider will more than likely never collect has an "incredibly low cost, generating very high return" for hospitals.

The sustainable growth rate formula's days may be numbered, but the SGR won't be repealed until an alternative system for making Medicare payments to physicians is found.

In a pilot, a system which permits patients to view all the notes in their electronic health records was such a hit with hospital patients and physicians that Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Geisinger Health System are dramatically expanding their OpenNotes programs.

Some acute care hospitals would see a $1.1 billion reduction in cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) funds for two years under a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposal.

Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee are asking doctors to answer questions about the physician fee schedule and changes that would be necessary to accommodate alternative payment models.

Hospitals and bond rating agencies will likely spend the next decade adjusting to the transition from volume-based to value-based payments. Moody's Investors Service is trialing 20 new value-focused indicators to evaluate hospitals.

Whether boards are too large, too unwieldy, or have members who are underqualified to effectively provide strategic direction, many of them need help to deal with the new realities of healthcare.

The National Surgical Quality Improvement Project, a growing effort run by the American College of Surgeons since 2004, reports that 83% of program participants have been able to decrease their surgical complication rates by a statistically significant level.

A $39.3 judgment million and the specter of hefty fines hang over Tuomey Healthcare System following a jury's decision that it violated the Stark Law and the False Claims Act. Adventist Health will pay $14.1M to resolve false claims allegations. Both cases were initiated by whistleblowers.