Given the current state of the world, AI is expected to play a critical role in home-based care systems, particularly in the areas of data collection, monitoring, analysis, and interpretation. The increase in the number of monitoring devices such as fitness trackers and wearable technology, for example, demonstrates the effect of AI on home […]
The world is changing and the operations behind healthcare reimbursement is changing with it. Healthcare organizations are recovering from an unprecedented public health crisis during which entire service lines shut down so providers could focus on stopping the spread of a deadly virus. Meanwhile, healthcare has been going through a digital revolution. The clinical shift […]
Healthcare consumerism is on the rise , as patients report the desire to use telehealth and contactless payment options post-COVID-19. However there are disconnects between payer, provider, and consumer expectations, according to the eleventh annual Trends in Healthcare Payments Report from InstaMed. The report explores how COVID-19 has accelerated many trends that have improved the consumer experience […]
Today the Biden Administration announced its latest group of appointments to the Department of Health and Human Services. The new appointees join tens of thousands of career officials throughout the agency at a time when expertise is critical to tackling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. WHAT’S THE IMPACT? Kristina Schake will serve as HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra’s […]
The extended unemployment benefits and $1,400 direct payments that are part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 signed into law by President Biden on March 11 have gained much attention. But the new law contains several other provisions aimed at making health insurance more affordable for millions of people with lower and moderate incomes, […]
Make sure you’re using the latest code files for your Medicare claims. A second quarter update to the HCPCS Level II code set used for reporting products, supplies, and services adds 23 codes. Additionally, six codes are revised and 12 are discontinued, effective April 1, 2021. There are also two codes with changes to Medicare coverage. […]
Healthcare providers in Massachusetts are getting twice the standard Medicare rate for COVID-19 vaccinations in an effort to accelerate vaccine rollout, according to a recent provider bulletin from the state’s Medicaid office. The provider bulletin released in January 2020 states that providers administering the two-dose vaccines from Pfizer and Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna will receive $33.88 for the […]
Medicare spending on physician services decreased by $9.4 billion, or 19 percent, in the first half of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new analysis from the American Medical Association (AMA). The analysis of Medicare Physician Fee Schedule claims from January to June last year found that Medicare spending dropped by as much […]
Federal officials are ordering plans and insurers to cover testing without cost-sharing – for virtually any purpose. Federal officials have issued new guidance intended to streamline the process through which Americans can get easy, free access to COVID-19 diagnostic testing and/or vaccinations. “This guidance makes clear that private group health plans and issuers generally cannot […]
To support the sudden increase in test results and medical records being transmitted during the pandemic, hospitals, laboratories, and pharmacies implemented additional devices and remote connections into their networks. After the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) lifted penalties around telehealth to expand care options amid the crisis, new platforms were adopted that were not previously allowed […]