The Next Generation ACO model from the CMS Innovation Center has attracted increased interest among provider organizations, mostly because its deal terms are thought to be the best in the market.

Following industry criticism and legal challenges, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will no longer enforce an inpatient payment cut to hospitals under the two-midnight rule. Instead it will provide a onetime bump to hospitals to offset the cuts.

INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zotec Partners (Zotec), the industry leader in radiology revenue cycle and practice management services, announces an exclusive revenue cycle management (RCM) agreement with Medical Administrative Professionals, LLC (MAP), the management services organization of Denver-based Diversified Radiology of Colorado, PC (DRC). DRC is a 55-radiologist practice that has undertaken billing in-house for several decades. In the new arrangement, MAP will employ Zotec’s RCM expertise, services and analytical tools to monitor data and contribute to the growth of the radiology practice.

Research from South Dakota State University has shown that healthcare facilities vary wildly in their efforts to maintain a tobacco-free environment.

In wake of the April 21 release of the overall hospital quality star ratings system developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), sixty senators have advised a delay “to provide the necessary time to more closely examine the star rating methodology, analyze its impact on different types of hospitals, and provide more transparent information regarding the calculation of the ratings to determine accuracy.”

Administrators from hospitals and nursing homes in Oklahoma have shared their support for increasing the state’s tobacco tax by $1.50 per pack of cigarettes to help. 

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., April 12, 2016 -- The Society of Actuaries (SOA) today announced a new relationship with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that brings actuarial science to public health practice as part of the CDC's 6|18 initiative. Insights from actuarial science will help further understanding of healthcare cost savings that can be achieved through evidence-based prevention. 

Staff at outpatient care facilities may need to brush up on hygiene basics, as a new study found a failure to follow recommendations for hand hygiene in 37 percent of observations.