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AEH: Safety-nets will face $40.5B in losses without similar ACA replacement
Washington D.C.-based America’s Essential Hospitals said if Congress repeals the ACA and does not replace it with a “comparable” plan, its safety-net hospital members will lose up to $40.5 billion nationwide.
The losses would reflect the decrease in coverage under an ACA repeal, cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital funding and Medicare from 2018 through 2026, according to the association’s policy brief.
In addition, the association said even if Congress followed a December 2015 repeal plan, which rescinded the Medicaid DSH cuts, its members would face a $16.8 billion loss over the same period.
“These numbers really show what’s at stake for the patients who depend on the doors being open at essential hospitals,” said Bruce Siegel, MD, president and CEO of America’s Essential Hospitals. “These are unsustainable losses that would jeopardize vital services and access to care in communities across the country.”
More than a third of health systems unprepared for MACRA: 8 findings
While most healthcare providers expect to participate in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, only 35 percent have a strategy for doing so, according to a study published by Health Catalyst and Peer60.
For the study, researchers surveyed 187 healthcare professionals, including 37 CEOs and 94 other C-suite executives. Survey respondents came from organizations ranging from some of the nation’s largest urban academic medical centers and integrated delivery networks to small, rural critical access facilities.
Here are eight survey findings.
6 latest hospital bankruptcies, closures
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/6-latest-hospital-bankruptcies-closures-020717.html
From reimbursement landscape challenges to dwindling inpatient volumes, many factors lead hospitals to file for bankruptcy or close.
Here are six hospitals that have filed for bankruptcy or closed since Dec. 1, starting with the most recent.
1. Louisiana Heart Hospital in Lacombe and its affiliated medical group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Jan. 30 and will close by the end of February. The hospital has faced financial challenges in recent years, as it struggled to balance shrinking reimbursements with rising operating costs.
2. North Texas Medical Center, which is owned by the Gainesville Hospital District, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy Jan. 17. The hospital’s board approved a partnership agreement with King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services in December. On Jan. 24, the bankruptcy court approved a debtor-in-possession loan that will allow UHS to provide financial support to North Texas Medical Center during the course of the bankruptcy case.
3. The public trust that operates Atoka (Okla.) County Medical Center filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy Jan. 10. The critical access hospital is about $16 million in debt.
4. North Philadelphia Health System filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Dec. 30 after years of financial troubles. NPHS currently operates two facilities in Philadelphia: Girard Medical Center, a 168-bed psychiatric hospital, and Goldman Clinic, a substance abuse treatment center.
5. Marshalltown-based Central Iowa Healthcare, which includes a 49-bed acute care hospital, an outpatient center and four primary care clinics, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Dec. 20. Interested parties are bidding on CIH’s assets. A hearing to approve a sale to the highest bidder is scheduled for March 17.
6. Indianapolis-based Community Health Network closed Community Westview Hospital Dec. 16 after a gradual step-down of services over the past few years. When the hospital closed, many of its services were relocated to other Community Health Network sites in the area.
Trump administration withdraws 340B mega-guidance: 6 things to know
The Trump administration has withdrawn guidance on the 340B Drug Pricing Program that was under review at the end of the Obama administration.
Here are six things to know about the guidance.
1. HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration released the omnibus guidance on the 340B Drug Pricing Program in August 2015. The 340B Drug Pricing Program allows certain safety-net healthcare organizations to purchase outpatient drugs at discounted prices.
2. The guidance addressed a broad range of topics within the 340B program, including the definition of patient, contract pharmacy compliance requirements, hospital eligibility criteria and eligibility of off-site outpatient locations.
3. On Jan. 30, the White House Office of Management and Budget marked the final guidance document as withdrawn.
4. Although the pharmaceutical drug industry generally supported the guidance, hospitals raised concerns about the proposal. The American Hospital Association previously expressed concern about the guidance, arguing that redefining patient eligibility for the 340B program would have inappropriately narrowed the number of drugs that qualify for 340B pricing.
5. On Wednesday, AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels said, “We are pleased that the administration chose not to finalize the Health Resources and Services Administration’s guidance, which, if enacted, would have jeopardized hospitals’ ability to service vulnerable populations, including low-income and uninsured individuals and patients receiving cancer treatments.”
6. For HRSA’s guidance to move forward, it would have to be resubmitted to the Office of Management and Budget.
100 things to know about Medicare reimbursement in 2017
Since its launch in 1965, Medicare has been one of the most influential programs for hospitals, health systems and other providers. Medicare has played a prominent part in various reform movements, including the shift from fee-for-service to value-based payment models, and the program’s policies and reimbursement rates have acted as a catalyst for change nationwide.
The following list sheds some light on several facets of Medicare reimbursement, covering everything from the latest update to the Inpatient Prospective Payment System to mandatory bundled payment models.
CHI’s operating loss swells to $153.9M in Q2
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/chi-s-operating-loss-swells-to-153-9m-in-q2.html
Catholic Health Initiatives, a nonprofit 103-hospital system based in Englewood, Colo., saw revenue increase in the second quarter of fiscal year 2017 but ended the period with an operating loss, according to recently released bondholder documents.
CHI said operating revenues climbed to $4.2 billion in the second quarter of FY 2017, up from $4 billion in the same period of the year prior. The increase was largely attributable to higher net patient service revenue, which grew 5.2 percent year over year to $4 billion in the second quarter of FY 2017. CHI said $93.4 million of net patient service revenue was due to recently completed acquisitions.
However, after factoring in a year-over-year increase in expenses, CHI ended the most recent quarter with an operating loss. CHI reported an operating loss of $153.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2017, compared to an operating loss of $112.1 million in the same period of the year prior.
CHI said operating results declined in the second quarter of FY 2017 across several of its regions, including Nebraska, Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas, North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa. The declining results in those regions were partially offset by improvements in the Ohio, Tennessee, Colorado and Pacific Northwest regions.
In a statement to Becker’s, a CHI spokesman said, “While financial results in the second quarter of the 2017 fiscal year demonstrated a favorable trend over the previous quarter, CHI continues its focus on a comprehensive performance-improvement and expense-reduction program, implementing a wide array of clinical and operational changes. The organization is confident that this disciplined, rigorous effort will yield further positive results in financial performance over the next six months of this fiscal year.”
In the first quarter of FY 2017, CHI reported an operating loss of $217.8 million, compared to an operating surplus of $7.8 million in the same period of the year prior.
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