Takeaways • Healthcare consumers are not aware that they can ask how much something costs. • There is disconnect between the law and common knowledge, and patients generally are confused about what they receive as good faith estimates. • In addition to incorrect CPT codes and OON allowable charges, the…

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Editor's Note Since the divisive ruling on affirmative action from the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) on June 29, which stated that "colleges and universities can no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis in admissions—a landmark decision that will have profound impacts on higher education institutions including medical…

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Editor's Note In a June 27 letter, the American Hospital Association (AHA) urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “to avoid disrupting healthcare delivery through the unintentional fracturing” of the medical device supply chain with its proposed ethylene oxide (EtO) standards. The EPA proposes: reducing EtO emissions by 80% adding new…

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Editor's Note This study from Harvard Medical School, Boston, and Georgetown University, Washington, DC, finds that hospital compliance with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 2021 Price Transparency Rule is increasing since financial penalties were enforced. Data from 4,377 acute care hospitals operating in 2021 and 2022 were…

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With healthcare costs continuing to rise, hospitals, payers, and patients are looking for different venues for care and ways to cut costs while maintaining quality and safety. As more surgical procedures are safely performed in outpatient settings, more ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are being built or restructured. Partnerships between hospitals…

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Editor's Note This study from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary (OACT) estimates that US healthcare spending will grow by 5.4% per year on average from 2022 to 2031, now that the COVID-19 public health emergency has ended. Rising from $4.4 to $7.17 trillion,…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), on May 31, withdrew the COVID-19 healthcare worker (HCW) vaccination requirements, including removing the requirement for COVID-19 vaccination policies and procedures for HCWs, the May 31 AHAToday reports. The rule also eliminated long-term care facility COVID-19 testing requirements that required…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on May 11, finalized its recommendations for assessing blood donor eligibility, which uses individual risk-based questions to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV. The questions will be the same for all donors, regardless of sexual orientation, sex, or gender. The new policy…

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Editor's Note Five of dozens of defendants charged in the Southern District of Florida for their alleged participation in an illegal licensing scheme for aspiring nurses have plead guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, according to a May 15 news release from the US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida. All…

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Editor's Note According to a May 14 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is continuing with the persistent, systemic problems that impaired its ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other public health crises, such as H1N1 influenza, Zika,…

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