It was only Feb. 3 that the IRS released guidance for implementing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s 2.3 percent excise tax on manufacturers and importers of medical devices—due to kick in next January—but the action has already reignited a firestorm of protest. This will surprise no one who has followed industry’s anti-tax drumbeat, which began upon the release of a Sept. 2011 economic analysis forecasting the loss of 43,000 American jobs at the hands of the tax.
As the healthcare system abandons fee-for-service reimbursement models for the potential savings of value-based reimbursement models, IT services firm CSC suggested that incentives for patients and providers need to more closely resemble each other for the transition to work.
The Supreme Court is filling its entire court calendar the week of March 26 with arguments relating to the impending review of the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA); totaling five and a half hours over three days with a decision expected in late June.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have released a final rule with comment period to revise the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System for calendar year 2012 to implement applicable statutory requirements and changes arising from the continuing experience with the system.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that updates payment policies and rates for physicians and non-physician practitioners for services paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule in calendar year 2012.
Medical terminology since the age of healthcare reform has shifted from a vocabulary such as vasospasms and angina to an entirely new language that turns patients into “customers” or “consumers” and doctors into "providers," according to a perspective published Oct. 13 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Written by Kaitlyn Dmyterko
While the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC’s) overall goal to scrap the government’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula is commendable, most say the commission is going about it the wrong way and have asked MedPAC to rethink its proposal. A MedPAC solution, proposal in September, was recommended by members in a 15-2 vote Oct. 6; however, most say the plan needs reworking, particularly because the proposal to overturn SGR is laced with long-term freezes and cuts to physician payments.
High unemployment, increasing enrollment in Medicaid and an otherwise dismal economy have affected the medical technology market, according to a recently released Ernst & Young report, “Pulse of the industry: Medical technology report 2010.” With uncertainties ahead, the authors write, many hospitals are holding onto their dollars.
Written by Kaitlyn Dmyterko
DENVER—As the future model of healthcare reform is not yet set in stone, those working in nuclear cardiology must first get a grip on how to modify the current system to charge less per service rather than compromising care with less volume, William A. Van Decker, MD, professor of Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, said during a presentation Sept. 9 at this year’s American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) scientific sessions.
In the hot-bed of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) legal arena, two appeals court decisions were filed on Aug. 12 indicating the fractious nature of the constitutionality of the individual mandate provision.
Written by Lisa Fratt
DALLAS—AHRA took a deep dive into healthcare reform and its impacts on the practice of radiology during an educational session Aug. 15 at its annual meeting.
In contrast to Canada, U.S. physician practices spend nearly four times more interacting with payors, according to researchers in the August edition of Health Affairs.
Written by Brian Dunham
Economists predict that government spending will account for 49 percent of all national health expenditures by 2020, according to a report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released July 28.
Written by Kaitlyn Dmyterko
Healthcare costs remain on the chopping block and with the future of the industry up in the air, more private cardiology practices have moved toward integrating with hospitals to survive the impending Medicare physician cuts and decreasing revenues. While new patients drive the business of cardiology, it remains a question as to whether supply and demand will meet midway, Patrick White, president of MedAxiom, said during a June 28 webinar outlining procedure volumes, ratios and financials.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has projected that, under the current law, Medicare payment rates for physician services will be reduced by 29.4 percent in 2012.
For nearly 40 years, residents have had to decide between one of two tracks for nuclear medicine training, a fragmented and outdated system that, thanks to shifts toward healthcare reform and molecular imaging, must be reconciled, according to a joint Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) and American College of Radiology (ACR) task force article published in the June issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
Driven by robust clinical information systems, rigorous performance measurement has led Intermountain Healthcare in Utah to achieve healthcare's holy grail: vastly improved patient outcomes at substantially lower costs.
Radiology benefit managers (RBMs) are assuming an increasing role in the utilization of imaging, but as the authorization system makes its way into more hospitals and national healthcare policy, a study published in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology questions the cost-effectiveness of RBMs and points to substantial cost shifting to providers.
After the Senate knocked down the House of Representatives’ bid to dramatically shrink Medicare, bipartisan leadership of the House Subcommittee on Health is now urging the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to reconsider its move to plug holes in the Stark Law and limit reimbursement for self-referred imaging.
Written by Clint vanSonnenberg
As many in the political and public arenas argue that the costs of healthcare are on an unsustainable trajectory, physicians may be reaching their limits as well: the costs of care for oncology “are unsustainable” and require far-reaching changes in treatment and attitudes, among oncologists as well as patients, wrote the authors of a May 25 article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
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