Why you’re not hearing from hospitals in the reform debate
Posted on November 5, 2009 at 12:07 pm
A former CMS boss tells Blake Farmer they’re quite satisfied, thank you, with the lukewarm, wishy-washy way things appear to be going.
“If you really want to do the right thing and finance this thing and pay for it, hospitals should probably be taking a bigger hit as should probably a lot of the providers, but that’s not likely to happen.”
TennCare releases report on MCO performance
Posted on October 27, 2009 at 7:12 amThe Bureau of TennCare on Monday released an analysis of the 2008 performance of TennCare participating managed care organizations. The report looks at 74 measures related to effectiveness and access to care, patient satisfaction, use of services, costs and others – comparing each MCO and aggregate results against national Medicaid averages. This is first report with data on behavioral health and drug and alcohol dependence treatment. Read the full report here.
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Stop scaring seniors
Posted on September 23, 2009 at 2:31 pmThe folks at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are reminding Medicare plan providers to choose their words wisely. This week, after Humana (Ticker: HUM) sent a letter to its Medicare Advantage plan customers warning that health reform could mean the loss of benefits for seniors, CMS sent a letter to all Medicare plan providers. According to a HealthSpring (Ticker: HS) spokesperson, the memo “reminds them about some of the regulations related to communicating about health care reform to members.”
We’re betting part of the letter also says something along the lines of, “Oh, and no gloating about the fact that this big debate seems to be going nowhere right now.”
Advocat ekes out Q1 profit
Posted on May 6, 2009 at 9:36 pmNursing home operator Advocat posted a first-quarter profit from continuing operations of about $600,000, down from $4.6 million a year ago. Revenues rose about 3 percent, but costs jumped 11 percent.
Also of note: The company has received a $5 milion funding commitment from REIT Omega Healthcare Investors to continue its renovation plan and it has settled with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over accounting shortfalls at some of its Texas facilities.
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Be patient with HealthSpring
Posted on March 5, 2009 at 1:05 pm
And by patient, Barrons.com’s Johanna Bennett means waiting a month or so, until after President Obama’s budget gets finalized and the market knows just how much Medicare Advantage insurers will be reimbursed. Shares of HealthSpring (Ticker: HS) and their peers have been have been hammered – and are taking more blows today – as all signs point to a cut in payment rates.
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Study: Hospitals delivering less value than last year
Posted on March 4, 2009 at 10:33 am
Research firm Data Advantage, which is run by former Essent exec Hal Andrews, says the median Hospital Value Index – a measure culled from CMS numbers that combines cost and quality – has fallen more than 8 percent since last summer. Another statistical tidbit: The best value for your hospital dollar is in the Great Plains.
Of the four best performing CMS regions, the hospitals in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri (CMS Region VII) reported the lowest average Medicare reimbursement per member per year for all healthcare costs, indicating that these hospitals are able to offer relatively high value at a relatively low cost.
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Local exec names to CMS committee
Posted on at 12:16 am
From a release:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tom Milam, chief operating officer of AmMed Direct®, has been named to the advisory committee that will assist the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in developing new policies and procedures for its medical equipment competitive bidding program.
The competitive bidding program was established by the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. In July 2008, CMS rolled out the first version of the new competitive bidding rules, and they were met with strong opposition from the health care industry and members of Congress. As a result, Congress mandated that CMS enlist the help of an advisory committee to help ensure that new rules are developed which will be fair and will preserve and improve the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries. Milam, whose company provides mail-order medical supplies to people with diabetes, was one of 17 people named to the committee.
More pain for health insurers
Posted on February 26, 2009 at 3:15 pmShares of HealthSpring (Ticker: HS) and its peers are plumbing new depths following the release of the Obama administration’s health plans, which will cut Medicare Advantage reimbursement rates.
Even by the standards of today’s market, this chart looks ugly.
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CHS in Medicaid border war
Posted on November 28, 2008 at 11:30 amCiting reimbursement issues, a Community Health (Ticker: CYH) hospital in Mississippi has stopped providing Medicaid care to residents of nearby Louisiana.
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