1. Has Maryland found a solution to the U.S. healthcare cost crisis?
Maryland currently runs the country’s only all-payer hospital rate setting system, under which facilities in the state are paid the same amount by all government and private health insurers. In January, Maryland and CMS announced a new initiative meant to modernize the system by promoting value instead of volume. If the all-payer model proves successful under its new terms, it could potentially provide a blueprint for efforts to contain costs and improve quality of care in other states.
2. 8 recent stories on health system financial results
The following eight hospitals and health systems released financial results during the past two weeks, starting with the most recent.
3. SSM Health revenue up 40% in first half of FY 2014
St. Louis-based SSM Health Care reported $2.4 billion in total revenue for the six months ended June 30, a 40 percent year-over-year increase. SSM saw operating income of $82.3 million for the first half of 2014, compared with a $1.3 million operating loss in the first six months of 2013.
4. CMS makes offer to help clear Medicare claims backlog
CMS offered to pay hospitals 68 percent of what hospitals claim they are owed for short-term inpatient stays, in an effort to help clear the backlog of Medicare claims.
5. Massachusetts exceeds expectations in holding down healthcare spending: 5 key findings
The Massachusetts healthcare system succeeded in keeping overall per capita growth in total healthcare expenditures below the state’s benchmark in 2013, according to a state report. The following five key findings from the Center for Health Information’s latest report reveal how the state’s healthcare system performed in 2013.
More articles on hospital finance:
Fitch downgrades Dickinson County Healthcare bond rating to “B”
Aurora Q2 operating margin soars to 9.8%
Williamsburg Regional Hospital names new CFO
