CMS announced the end of the Web Interface mechanism in the 2021 Final Rule and introduced the new APM Performance Pathway (APP). This means value-based organizations will need to adjust their participation in the Quality Payment Program by 2022. By starting the transition now, you will position your value-based organization for success and avoid…
Healthcare costs and low-value care tend to increase when hospitals acquire physicians, new studies published in Health Affairs show. The number of diagnostic and lab tests performed in hospitals versus unaffiliated facilities increased after doctors were acquired by hospitals, which inflated healthcare costs, according to an analysis of 30 million imaging procedures and 341 million…
For the first time, most physicians worked outside of physician-owned practices in 2020, as doctors continue to gravitate toward employment by hospitals and other organizations, according to a new American Medical Association survey. The trade group’s latest Physician Practice Benchmark Survey found that 49.1% of patient care physicians worked in physician-owned practices in 2020, a…
Having helped several Medicare Advantage plans achieve significant quality performance improvements (up to 1.1 stars improvement YoY in 2020 alone), Stellar Health (Stellar) is sharing its perspective on what it takes to sustain and improve Star Ratings for health plans and why there is a need for action despite even a few years of success….
The Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) is the largest value based care program from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to date. Since its inception in 2012, Accountable Care Organization (ACO) participation has doubled; providing care to over 10 million beneficiaries, generating $1.94 billion in total savings, and earning over $1.47 billion in…
Even with significant medical advances and greater access to healthcare, heart disease still remains the leading cause of death globally. While this is cause for concern alone, the risks of heart disease and other chronic illnesses have been amplified due to the impact of the COVID-19 and its links to harmful effects on the cardiovascular…
Identifying and implementing social determinants of health (SDOH) data into the EHR is critical to finding answers to a state’s most significant issues. Once identified, SDOH data helps healthcare providers make social services referrals, but the process for doing so using technology is challenging. “It’s not that physicians have totally ignored social determinants of health,…
Green space, an increasingly recognized social determinant of health, has been linked to lower racial health disparities related to the novel coronavirus, according to researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. These findings offer another view of the racial health disparities seen during the pandemic. Thus far, most investigations into COVID-19 racial health disparities have looked…
Central to the controversy about ACOs’ potential for Value-Based Care is whether they actually save enough money and reduce costs fast enough. Researchers and advocates have produced various independent studies of ACO savings, the most generous estimating $1.8 billion in cumulative savings over the first three years of the program, almost double CMS estimates. Many…
A robust hospice mergers and acquisitions market is showing no signs of slumping as interest among strategic buyers and private equity investors ramps up. A provider’s performance within evolving value-based payment models may become a factor that potential buyers consider when eyeing a hospice acquisition, particularly as it pertains to their quality and outcomes data….
