Economics

This channel highlights factors that impact hospital and healthcare economics and revenue. This includes news on healthcare policies, reimbursement, marketing, business plans, mergers and acquisitions, supply chain, salaries, staffing, and the implementation of a cost-effective environment for patients and providers.

Massive spending bill passes final vote in Congress with Medicaid cuts intact
The 940-page document passed the House of Representatives in a 218 to 214 vote, and now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk. It contains a 20% cut to federal Medicaid funding, something Trump said he opposes.
Doc groups say payer promises not enough to address care denials
MGMA and others who are part of the “Regulatory Relief Coalition” are urging Congress to continue pushing forward with the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act.
Provider pay increased by 4.9% across specialties in 2024, survey finds
A survey from the American Medical Group Association found that physicians and advanced care providers are making more money when compared to hours worked. However, the complications of inflation and the rising cost of care could eat into gains.
PFA market heats up as medtech companies announce new investments
While Kardium raised $250 million in an oversubscribed funding round, Field Medical raised $35 million. Both companies are focused on designing and developing new pulsed field ablation technologies to help treat challenging arrhythmias.
Senate bounces spending bill back to House with 2.5% Medicare rad pay fix
In addition, there are no restrictions on pass-through entity taxes (PTET), which “benefits independent physician practices,” one expert notes.

Radiology vendor Digirad to sell its mobile imaging business unit for $18.75M

DMS Health Technologies' business provides contract diagnostic imaging including CT, MRI, PET and nuclear medicine through a “convenient, mobile service.”

Corruption or coincidence? Physicians use cardiac devices made by manufacturers who pay them the most

More than 4,000 physicians were included in the study, and 94% of them had received payments from at least one device manufacturer. The median payment received was $1,211.

Private radiology practice lands $100M investment from dialysis giant Fresenius to fuel rapid growth

Dayton Interventional Radiology aims to reduce out-of-pocket expenses by providing imaging-guided procedures at Medicaid reimbursement rates.

Consumers turning to Groupon for discounted imaging face potential upselling, safety risks

Direct-to-consumer imaging is good for price transparency, but researchers warn it can lead to unnecessary testing, incidental findings and other problems.

Hopes in AI running high among healthcare executives

Almost twice as many healthcare leaders anticipate a fairly fast return on their AI investment than had that expectation two years ago—59% now vs. 31% then. And only 5% aren’t currently recruiting workers with skills to help make it happen.

Physician lawmakers try new approach to shield radiology from millions in Medicare cuts

Bipartisan members of the U.S. House recently introduced their “Holding Providers Harmless from Medicare Cuts During COVID-19 Act.”

Radiology’s average salary ranks 10th among specialties, with overall physician compensation holding steady

San Francisco-based Doximity surveyed nearly 44,000 U.S. doctors between 2019 and 2020 for its fourth annual Physician Compensation Report.

Hospitals in the crosshairs of bad actors brandishing ransomware

The cybersecurity arm of the Department of Homeland Security is urging hospitals and other healthcare providers to brace for ransomware attacks during the present surge of COVID-19 cases.

Economics

Massive spending bill passes final vote in Congress with Medicaid cuts intact

Doc groups say payer promises not enough to address care denials

Provider pay increased by 4.9% across specialties in 2024, survey finds

PFA market heats up as medtech companies announce new investments

Senate bounces spending bill back to House with 2.5% Medicare rad pay fix