ASCs lock in higher Medicare, Medicaid payment rate
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…
Healthcare costs making Americans poorer, sicker
Editor's Note The high cost of healthcare is leading many Americans to skip care and forgo medications, according to the 2023 Healthcare Affordability Survey by the Commonwealth Fund published on October 26. Some highlights of the survey include: A large number of insured working-age adults surveyed admitted difficulty affording their…
New agreement between HHS, Pfizer to ensure access to Paxlovid
Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Pfizer have announced an agreement to extend patient access to the COVID-19 drug Paxlovid, Healthcare Purchasing News October 16 reports. According to the article, Pfizer is readying the drug for more availability in the commercial market in November…
Problems with prior authorization, utilizing health insurance coverage are prevalent, survey finds
Editor's Note This KFF survey from June 2023 found that some six in 10 adults with health insurance have experienced problems when trying to use their insurance, KFF Health News September 29 reports. The problems included denied claims, network adequacy issues, and preauthorization delays and denials. According to the survey,…
Effect of Medicaid expansion on reductions in preventable hospitalizations
Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, examines whether Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion among Black, Hispanic, and White patients led to reductions in preventable hospitalizations. Data on census population and hospitalizations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions from 2010 to…
Study: Race, income, insurance associated with delayed appendicitis diagnosis, long hospital stays
Editor's Note A study led by researchers at Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University in Chicago finds non-Hispanic Black, low income, and publicly insured patients received higher rates of delayed appendicitis diagnoses and long postoperative hospital stays. The cohort study included 80,312 patients who underwent open or laparoscopic appendectomy in…
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