Tag: Healthcare spending

national-healthcare-spending-prices-saw-modest-increase-in-2021

National Healthcare Spending, Prices Saw Modest Increase in 2021

National healthcare spending increased by 3.4 percent in 2021, while the Health Care Price Index (HCPI) maintained a year-over-year growth of around 2 percent, according to Altarum’s February 2022 Health Sector Economic Indicators (HSEI) briefs. Unlike the December 2021 and January 2022 briefs, Altarum included federal government expenditures in the February data, which significantly impacted […]
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2b-in-provider-relief-fund-payments-heading-to-providers

$2B in Provider Relief Fund Payments Heading to Providers

The Provider Relief Fund payments are part of the Phase 4 General Distribution announced in December. HHS, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is doling out another $2 billion in Provider Relief Fund payments to healthcare providers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 7,600 providers across the country will get the payments […]
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Healthcare Spending Shifts to Uninsured, Prescription Drugs

High Healthcare Spending Shifts to Uninsured, Prescription Drugs

In nearly two decades, the overall concentration of healthcare spending has remained steady, but there has been an increase in the concentration of prescription drug spending, according to a study in JAMA Network Open. To find the concentration curves of cumulative percentage of healthcare spending versus percentage of ranked population, researchers analyzed data sets from […]
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Predictive Healthcare Forecasting

Predictive Healthcare Forecasting Key to Provider Survival in 2021

Healthcare forecasting that can adapt quickly to changes could be as critical to a provider organization’s survival in 2021 as wearing a mask to stop the spread of COVID-19, experts at PwC’s Health Research Institute are saying. Nearly three-quarters of healthcare executives (74 percent) recently surveyed by the Health Research Institute said their organizations would […]
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AI in COVID19 Pandemic

How AI is Solving Big Challenges During COVID-19

Artificial intelligence is changing the way we think about healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, opening our eyes to new opportunities to use machine learning to draw useful conclusions faster. Before COVID-19, one of the biggest challenges healthcare organizations faced was how to accelerate and scale their application of AI—clinically and operationally. Now, the use cases […]
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Hospital Reimbursement

Trump Budget Eyes More Site-Neutral, Hospital Reimbursement Cuts

President Trump’s proposed FY 2021 budget includes hospital reimbursement cuts, including more site-neutral payments, as well as a unified post-acute care payment system. President Trump’s proposed budget for the 2021 fiscal year (FY) is stirring up controversy over massive cuts to Medicare and Medicaid spending and proposals to implement work requirements and block grants in Medicaid. But […]
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Medicaid Payments

Adjusting Medicaid Payments for Social Determinants to Boost Care

Using a per-person adjustment for Medicaid payments to hospitals would address social determinants of health and help hospitals fund more comprehensive care, experts say. Adjusting Medicaid payments for social determinants of health would help address the broader social needs of children and cost restraints at safety-net hospitals, according to researchers from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of […]
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Affordable Care Act

Affordable Care Act Plans Will Be Able To Offer Wellness Incentives Under CMS Pilot

Insurers can offer premium discounts or other incentives to engage in healthy activities, but questions remain as to whether wellness programs work. Affordable Care Act plans in 10 states will be able to offer wellness programs, as employer-sponsored plans have been doing for years. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Monday announced the opportunity for […]
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