In a last-ditch attempt to preserve their historic practice of charging whatever the market will bear, almost always after the fact, U.S. hospitals filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its proposed Transparency in Coverage rule. The suit, brought by the American Hospital Association (AHA) trade group, isn’t surprising.…
Driven by unsustainable cost increases, increased public and regulatory scrutiny, as well as shifting alliances, healthcare is undergoing a radical transformation. New competitors, value-conscious employers and consumers, new technologies, changing payment models, and shrinking reimbursements are altering where and how care is delivered. As a result, healthcare organizations are under…
Hospitals keep making preventable mistakes, and patients continue to pay the ultimate price for them. Just before the new year, an update of the investigation by The Wall Street Journal found that more than 100 psychiatric hospitals hold their accreditation despite safety violations, 16 percent of them severe. Why is this…
Is your organization ready for prepared for success under MACRA?
It’s not as user-friendly as Consumer Reports, but the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ overall star rating system represents progress in getting data into the hands of health care consumers. And despite some methodological shortcomings, it puts providers on their toes, which is a good thing. On July 27,…
Hospital industry lobbyists earned their money recently when the Obama administration bowed to Congressional pressure and delayed the release of a new system to rate hospitals based on health outcomes for patients treated under Medicare. The delay is likely to be just a short-term respite for the industry. Hospital ratings…
