1. How CHS, Tenet, UHS, LifePoint and HCA fared financially in 2016
Five major for-profit hospital operators produced mixed financial results through the first three quarters of 2016.
2. MACRA toolkit: 10 reads on the new Medicare payment model beginning in 2017
The first performance year for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act — the landmark bipartisan law that replaces the sustainable growth rate formula in determining physician payments under Medicare Part B — begins Jan. 1.
3. RAC improper payment recoveries plunge 91%
The Recovery Audit Contractor program, which has a mission to correct improper Medicare payments by identifying and collecting over- and underpayments, saw a substantial slump in recoveries in fiscal year 2015, according to a CMS report.
4. Fiscal penalties for low-performing hospitals linked to improved readmission rates
The financial penalties instituted by the ACA’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program were associated with a reduction in readmissions, an analysis published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found.
5. 20 health conditions people spent most on in 2013 — and what the bulk of their money went toward
Of 155 medical conditions, people personally spent $1.2 trillion on the top 20 alone in 2013, according to an analysis published in JAMA.
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