Editor's Note In a March 9 Press release, CMS announced it will offer emergency funding for healthcare providers experiencing continued disruptions in the wake of a February 21 cyberattack on Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealthGroup and a major processor of medical claims. According to the release, CMS will extend…

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Editor's Note Since the pandemic, the view of the healthcare industry in congress has essentially gone from “hero to zero” – a shift with potentially big implications for the healthcare business leaders gathered at yesterday’s closing session from Soumi Saha, PharmD, JD, senior vice president of government affairs at Premier…

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Editor's Note The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced a new initiative to ensure public access to emergency healthcare and assist hospitals in fulfilling obligations under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a CMS January…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has implemented a final rule reforming the prior authorization process, with the aim to reduce delays in patient care and boost electronic efficiency for physicians, the American Medical Association (AMA) News Wire reported January 23. The Department of Health and…

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Editor's Note: Non-monetary compensation to physicians is limited to no more than $507 for calendar year 2024, according to a report on the federal Stark Law published December 27 in Lexology. The Stark Law applies to non-cash or cash-equivalent payments from hospitals, physician groups, labs and other provider entities. The…

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Takeaways • The Joint Commission eliminated 56 redundant or outdated Elements of Performance, revised four others, and is using more checklists. • The Joint Commission is emphasizing healthcare equity and identifies it as a priority to address healthcare quality and safety, calling organizations to integrate health equity into their QAPI…

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Editor's Note Health record codes that track social, environmental, and economic influences on patient health outcomes are vastly underutilized during screening, according a December 19 EurekAlert! report on research from John Hopkins and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.   Published in Health Affairs Scholar, the study analyzes the…

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Editor's Note Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) will now receive a 3.1% payment rate from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for services, which is an increase of .3% under the original rule, Becker’s ASC Review December 5 reports. This change in payment rate reflects the average of all…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on November 1 announced the release of the 2024 ORYX performance measure reporting requirements, which will be effective starting on January 1, 2024, for critical access hospitals and hospitals. In the new requirements, acute care hospitals and critical access hospitals must join The Joint Commission National…

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Editor's Note According to a report by researchers from the University of Virginia Healthcare System, there is a significant gender pay gap in Center for Medical Services (CMS) reimbursements for gastroenterologists, Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News October 19 reports. The findings were reported in this poster presentation as well as first…

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