Seven years from now, Medicare Part A will only be able to reimburse hospitals 89% of costs for hospital stays and related services. Twenty years later, the portion CMS can pay will fall to 77%.

More than 90% of healthcare consumers were surprised by a medical bill in 2018, while nearly three-quarters were confused by a bill’s content and more than half could not pay a bill in full if it totaled more than $1,000.

America’s opioid crisis cost the federal government some $26 billion in lost tax revenue and state governments $11.8 billion in lost revenue between 2000 and 2016, according to a recent analysis.

The primary care business is getting more crowded at the top, where the big money is.

CMS proposed to expand reimbursement for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) to patients with suspected masked hypertension while continuing to cover it for those with white coat hypertension.

A bill introduced to Congress on April 9 aims to close a Medicare “loophole” by preventing physician self-referrals for advanced imaging, radiation therapy, anatomic pathology and physical therapy. The legislation is a polarizing issue for medical societies.

AMGA, a trade association focused on improving healthcare throughout the United States, has issued a statement in opposition to legislation being considered by Congress that would limit self-referrals in numerous specialties, including imaging.

From HMOs to ACOs to the several arms of CMS’s Quality Payment Program (QPP), policymakers have been pushing healthcare providers to achieve better outcomes for less dollars—i.e., to improve value—for generations now.