Senate health committee leaders have introduced a bipartisan legislative package that protects patients from surprise medical bills by banning out-of-network deductibles in emergencies, establishing a benchmark for health plan-provider payment disputes and ending unexpected air ambulance expenses.

Healthcare affordability is a struggle for many Texas adults, according to a new statewide poll.

Federal lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been working together on legislation to end surprise medical bills.

Melissa Shore serves as vice president of revenue performance management at Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing June 18 on bipartisan legislation to end surprise medical bills.

CMS is offering more settlement options for inpatient rehabilitation facilities to resolve disputes over denied Medicare claims.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation June 14 that ensures  funding for the state's designated trauma hospitals while removing the Driver Responsibility Program, which previously provided revenue for hospitals, the Texas Hospital Association announced. 

The CFO of Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health said the health system has no plans to abandon its mission in North Carolina after state regulators denied a request to re-finance debt from Macon, Ga.-based Navicent Health.

In a recent press release, HELP Financial Corporation announced their 30th anniversary.

Legislators in Massachusetts are reviewing a bill aimed at requiring hospitals to publicly disclose their assets and profits, including offshore accounts, as well as limit CEO pay, according to The Milford Daily News.

More providers are capable of taking on increased payment risk, according to a survey of 170 hospital and health system senior finance executives completed by Navigant/HFMA.   

A coalition of Baltimore citizens, backed by two unions, presented a letter and petition June 17 to Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Hospital President Redonda Miller, MD, calling on the hospital to drop medical debt lawsuits against patients.

From reimbursement landscape challenges to dwindling patient volumes, many factors lead hospitals to file for bankruptcy.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has released its June 2019 report on Medicare payment policy to Congress, which includes a recommendation to end "incident to" billing for non-physician practitioners.

A proposal to create a taxing district for St. Mark's Medical Center in La Grange, Texas, which would have kept the hospital open for the foreseeable future, failed in a landslide vote on June 13, according to the Texas Observer.

Of the 27 states that have seen at least one rural hospital close since 2010, those with the most closures are in the South, according to research from the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program.

Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health plans to sell $678 million in bonds June 18 to fund multiple hospital construction/renovation projects systemwide and help the system reposition its capital structure, officials confirmed to Becker's.

Amid a flurry of proposals for comprehensive healthcare system reform, a new analysis from the Urban Institute makes the case for incremental reform to current law.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation June 14 to end surprise medical bills for out-of-pocket costs after emergency or unplanned healthcare services, the Texas Hospital Association announced.

Doniphan, Mo.-based Ripley County Memorial Hospital, which closed in October, will not reopen, according to a Prospect-News report published on semissourian.com.