Another Big Step In Reshaping Health Care by Anna Wilde and Jon Kamp. The Wall Street Journal. February 28, 2013.
Insurers are under pressure to bring down premiums for health insurance policies to be sold on the Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) exchanges. In exchange, they are creating smaller networks of providers to help the hospitals obtain more patients to offset the lower rates they will receive. The article mentions the high stakes for insurers and providers: possibly 11 to 13 million enrollees and $50 to $60 billion in premiums.
Showing posts with label reimbursement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reimbursement. Show all posts
Friday, March 1, 2013
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Nurse Anesthetists' Role to Expand?
Nurses Seek Expanded Role by Timothy W. Martin. The Wall Street Journal. October 3, 2012.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid will decide by November if Nurse Anesthetists should be directly reimbursed by Medicare for pain treatment services including epidurals and writing prescriptions for painkillers called opioids.
This proposed decision is sharply opposed by doctor's groups who assert that it could lead to increases in painkiller prescriptions, increased costs, and looser control of painkillers. The AARP, the Rural Health Association, and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists support the proposed decision stating that there are not enough pain doctors to meet demand.
In light of state pressure to crack down on writing pain killer prescriptions, there is pressure to ramp up training requirements for physicians writing those prescriptions. The AANA does not have specific training requirements. Doctors who are not pain specialists may receive only a few weeks relevant training in residency or in medical school.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid will decide by November if Nurse Anesthetists should be directly reimbursed by Medicare for pain treatment services including epidurals and writing prescriptions for painkillers called opioids.
This proposed decision is sharply opposed by doctor's groups who assert that it could lead to increases in painkiller prescriptions, increased costs, and looser control of painkillers. The AARP, the Rural Health Association, and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists support the proposed decision stating that there are not enough pain doctors to meet demand.
In light of state pressure to crack down on writing pain killer prescriptions, there is pressure to ramp up training requirements for physicians writing those prescriptions. The AANA does not have specific training requirements. Doctors who are not pain specialists may receive only a few weeks relevant training in residency or in medical school.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Non-Profit Hospitals Turn to Risk to Maximize Return
Riskier Investment Strategies For Hospitals Could Be Slippery Slope by Mark Reiboldt. The Atlanta Journal Constitution. September 19, 2012.
In order to compensate for cuts to government hospital reimbursement rates, non-profit hospitals are turning to riskier investments such as real estate, hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital.
The report from Commonfund pointing out this trend can be found here.
In order to compensate for cuts to government hospital reimbursement rates, non-profit hospitals are turning to riskier investments such as real estate, hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital.
The report from Commonfund pointing out this trend can be found here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)