How bad is inflation? Physicians, financial managers report the latest. The Medical Group Management Association has published its 2022 MGMA Cost and Revenue Survey Report. The title is “Maintaining Margin in the Inflation Era,” and survey respondents said it’s been difficult to do so in 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic and its lingering effects on health […]
Economists say hospitals will have to enact “aggressive cost-cutting measures,” including department or service line closures, to stabilize profit margins. Hospitals will need to take drastic cost-cutting measures to stabilize balance sheets after one of the worst financial years in decades, according to economists. Those measures may include department and service line closures or even […]
Waiving the PAYGO sequester requirements and updating the 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule would help limit Medicare payment cuts to hospitals, FAH wrote. As the 117th Congress nears the end of its session, the Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) has called upon congressional leaders to pass legislation that will reduce financial challenges for hospitals, including […]
Digital transformation accelerated in the last few years and CIOs have elevated responsibility as strategic business leaders for their organizations. Learn how CIOs are thinking about their role, and building teams, at the Becker’s 7th Annual Health IT + Digital Health + RCM event in Chicago, Oct. 4 to 7. The event brought together thousands […]
Supply chain issues, medication costs, and labor challenges sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to the spiking hospital expenses. Hospital expenses have increased 23 percent since 2016, a spike researchers attributed to continuous COVID-19 challenges, according to a recent analysis. By analyzing American Hospital Association data, investigators noticed hospital expenses increased 47 percent in 2020when […]
Health systems that used automation for revenue cycle operations had an average cost-to-collect of 3.51 percent compared to 3.74 percent for those that did not use automation. Using automation for revenue cycle operations could lower hospital and health systems’ cost-to-collect by 0.25 percent, according to a survey from the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). The […]
Self-pay after insurance patient collection rates dropped from 76 percent in 2020 to 55 percent in 2021 as the share of out-of-pocket balances over $7,500 grew. Patient collection rates at hospitals declined and bad debt increased when out-of-pocket bills reached $7,500, according to a report from Crowe Revenue Cycle Analytics (Crowe RCA). The report reflects […]
A survey shows that 60% of consumers who look for pricing information seek answers from their insurance companies, but healthcare price transparency should still be a priority for providers. Not many consumers are asking how much healthcare services cost but among those who do, they are seeking answers primarily from their insurance companies, according to […]
Provider profit margins might increase after the COVID-19 pandemic based on three key shifts in payer mix and care delivery. Healthcare providers faced a rough couple of years as the COVID-19 pandemic dampened financial growth, but the post-pandemic future should create a favorable environment for provider profit margins, according to a new report. The report […]
More than 200,000 residents could be at risk of displacement if federal leaders establish minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes. Nursing homes would have to spend up to $10 billion per year and hire almost 188,000 nurses to comply with increased minimum staffing requirements, according to a report from the American Health Care Association (AHCA) […]