The No Surprises Act (NSA) was meant to relieve the financial burden from consumers and help prevent unexpected, and sometimes massive, healthcare bills – a goal that providers, payors and the industry at large can get behind. But a recent survey from Morning Consult found that one in five patients will still receive a surprise bill. Couple this with the scope of changes and many surprises the NSA contains for payors, and providers – and it seems this bill will take some time to live up to its
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How to Empower Patients With Price Transparency
The evolution of e-commerce – led by Amazon – has created an intensely savvy consumer population. Amazon’s platform allows users to easily compare products from different vendors to get the best price. People travel to retail stores to try on clothes and shoes, only to purchase them online for less. Even the longest running game show in television history awards points for knowing how much consumer products cost.
Healthcare, on the other hand, does not engender the same kind of
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Does Data Hold the Key to Streamlining Provider Credentialing?
Provider credentialing is an essential part of healthcare. A provider cannot work or get paid without a proper license or credential, and yet this highly complex process is still done on paper (also sticky notes on file cabinets, Excel spreadsheets—you get the idea) by many healthcare organizations. Manually credentialing providers adds to an already lengthy process. One expired certificate or a delayed privileging request can prevent a provider from seeing patients for more than 60
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Why Security Misconceptions Are Threatening Healthcare Systems’ IoT Devices
Hospitals and other critical healthcare systems face skyrocketing risks as ransomware attacks—which most commonly target IoT devices—continue to escalate. In 2021 alone, IoT ransomware attack incidents targeting healthcare organizations increased by 123%.
While most healthcare systems have a healthy respect for the importance of securing the myriad Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices humming within their facilities, many harbor misconceptions that hamper their abilities to
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How Fines Push Hospitals To Go Beyond CMS Price Transparency Rules
The gamble is over for hospitals that avoided complying with CMS price transparency mandates.
After a slow start since they were implemented more than 18 months ago, CMS has issued 350 warnings for noncompliance, 157 corrective action requests, and finally issued fines to two Georgia hospitals in June. It seems many more will be on the way.
The fines are significant. The first two hospitals faced fines of roughly $880,000 and $214,000. Noncompliant hospitals with 550 beds or
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How Will New FDA Hearing Aid Regulations Impact Health Plans?
The time has finally arrived. The Food & Drug Administration’s new over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid regulations are now in effect and health plans are starting to explore what it means for them. Among the many questions they may need to grapple with, a few are particularly salient:
- How will the new rules impact their benefit offerings?
- What new opportunities will arise?
- What potential pitfalls should they be aware of?
Introducing OTC hearing
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3 Seismic Shifts Transforming Women’s Health – FemTech
My company recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, which prompted me to reflect on the progress of the women’s health sector over the last decade. There has been so much change, so many technological innovations and clinical breakthroughs. And yet, two things haven’t changed all that much. Our outcomes in the U.S. have not improved; in fact they are in decline. This is true whether you are measuring maternal mortality, health equity, or complication rates. And as an industry, we’ve yet to
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Keeping Telehealth in Great (Security) Shape
COVID-19 turned telehealth into a household term, transforming the services that healthcare providers can offer patients. Thanks to advancements in connectivity, global experts in rare procedures and conditions can connect virtually to share knowledge with local medical practitioners and surgeons – and can conduct remote consultations in the comfort and privacy of patients’ homes worldwide. Telehealth is still viable and very important to connect patients to healthcare providers, even as the
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5 Proven Strategies to Increase Employee Retention And Reduce Operational Costs In Senior Living
Staffing turnover in senior care has reached an all-time high at an annual rate of 48.5% among all employees and 68.1% among resident assistants and personal care aides. At a sunk cost of roughly $2,200 per employee, staff turnover is expensive and results in lower resident satisfaction, quality of care and occupancy.
Staff leave for a myriad of reasons, but what if a few simple changes could transform the trajectory of your organization? Luckily there are proven strategies to increase staff
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Prior Authorization Reforms Don’t Address the Real Problem. Here’s How AI Can Help.
After waiting weeks for an open appointment, John finally gets in to see the orthopedic surgeon to evaluate his acute knee pain. He’s already been off work for over two months and has barely been able to leave the house, popping anti-inflammatory and pain medicine to manage the pain every day.
Suspecting a torn meniscus, the doctor orders an MRI to verify the diagnosis and plan his treatment approach. The nurse begins the process by calling John’s insurance carrier to verify coverage,
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