On Monday, Aug. 13 H.I.G. Growth Partners (H.I.G.) announced the completion of its investment in Sage Hospice. Headquartered in Phoenix, Sage is a leading provider of hospice and palliative care services to patients in the Phoenix market. H.I.G. is...Arizona News
Registration is now open for sponsors, exhibitors and attendees. This large annual three-day event has been moved to the valley from Tucson after 20+ years in the old pueblo. This event is not to be missed and includes a golf outing, pre-conference workshops and special pricing available to providers that want to attend but are...Arizona News
Humana took a $790 million hit after selling off long-time subsidiary KMG America Corporation, but beat analyst estimates with a reported $16 million increase in operating cash flows over the last year.
In a second quarter earnings call on Aug. 1, executive at Humana Brian A. Kane acknowledged the losses incurred from the KMG...Arizona News
The accountable care organization is using the lower-risk track as a training ground for its next generation, higher risk track that now serves 25,000 Medicare beneficiaries.
Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid proposed to phase out Track 1, Track 1+ and Track 2, condensing the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) to...National News
In a new proposed rule, the Medicare Shared Savings Program redesigns the participation options for the majority of accountable care organizations (ACOs) to encourage a speedier transition to risk bearing tracks, currently Track 1 participants bear no risk and may remain on the track for six years.
The Trump Administration has...Arizona News
The Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona took the top spot on the "Best Hospitals Honor Roll" nationally by U.S. News & World Report and No. 1 in Arizona for the Phoenix metro area. It is the second time Mayo Clinic had two hospitals recognized for Best Hospitals Honor Roll.
Announced on Aug. 14, it is the sixth...Arizona News
CVS' retail medical clinic, MinuteClinic, begins to provide around-the-clock telehealth services in a partnership with leader in virtual care, Teladoc. Patients with injuries, skin conditions or minor illnesses engage in video visits at any time of the day, seven days a week through a mobile app.
Patients choosing to use the...Arizona News
Former Medical Director Mario Islas said his work as a reservist in the U.S. Navy was a motivating factor for the community health center when it did not renew his employment contract in 2016.
According to its 2017 report to the Health Resources & Service Administration, Native American Community Health System served 7,621...Arizona News
SMAC meets quarterly in downtown Phoenix and on August 8 the committee was presented with information from Arizona Medicaid including information on AHCCCS Complete Care, CMS waivers, social determinants of health (SDOH), housing and work force development.
The 17-member SMAC committee is presided over by the Arizona Health Care Cost...Arizona News
Parents of Alyssa Gilderhus say they aided in their daughter's escape from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota after she repeatedly requested to be transferred to another hospital and claimed the facility "medically kidnapped" her.
Videos have surfaced all over the Internet of Gilderhus' almost soap opera-like escape, showing a...Arizona News
In Arizona rate review filings, Cigna Healthcare of Arizona proposed an 18.2 percent on-average rate reduction for individual products it plans to offer in 2019.
The insurer returns to the Arizona market after offering individual/family exchange plans in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Cigna dropped out of the 2017 market, leaving only two...National News
The final rule issued August 2 updates Medicare payment policies and rates under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS).
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), the rule is designed to empower patients through better access to...National News
On Aug. 3, the U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement with Prime Healthcare and its CEO Dr. Prem Reddy have agreed to pay $65 million to settle allegations of Medicare over-billing for false claims across 14 Prime hospitals in California. A San Diego whistleblower Karin Berntsen, will receive $17.2 million for her reporting of...National News
A couple of Medicare Advantage (MA) policy changes implemented earlier this year point to MA insurers as the perfect candidates to pay for senior living services as part of new supplementary benefits.
Medicare Advantage allows government Medicare dollars to go through private insurers that in turn offer seniors benefit packages as...National News
Four major U.S. cities are suing President Trump and his administration for deliberately attempting to ensure the Affordable Care Act (ACA) fails, thus violating the president's constitutional duty to execute laws faithfully under the Take Care Clause.
Representing 4.5 million Americans, the plaintiffs, Baltimore, Chicago,...Arizona News
During this year's second quarter, Ensign Group said its strategies for underperforming skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), which included removing old leadership teams, pushed its SNF revenue to $286.3 million, an increase of 4 percent, year over year.
According to Ensign's CEO Christopher Christensen, the acquisition of SNFs in 2017...Arizona News
Douglas Luckett tells the Phoenix Business Journal that the hospital system will probably expand some existing facilities and could potentially add another Arizona hospital to the Boston-based Steward Health Care System, already one of the largest private systems in the nation. Steward purchased Iasis Healthcare in September...National News
Uncertainty surrounds potential mega-healthcare mergers as the CVS-Aetna deal and Cigna's acquisition of Express Scripts are in question. Just last year, the Justice Department thwarted the Cigna-Anthem and Aetna-Humana mergers.
The California Insurance Commissioner is adamant that the CVS-Aetna $69 billion merger proposal be blocked...Arizona News
The facility recently laid off 60 employees and announced a new CEO Kelly Adams, a partner in ER Hospital, a firm hired by the hospital's owner Lateral Investment Management.
In January 2018, the California-based equity firm Lateral Investment Management was the sole bidder on the hospital with its $28.5 million bid. Lateral is know...National News
HHS Secretary Alex Azar says current interpretations of the two privacy laws…are not just impeding value-based arrangements in healthcare. They can also get in the way of communities and families working together to combat our country’s crisis of opioid addiction, another top priority for President Trump.
Azar made the comments...National News
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) missed $4 billion in savings evaluating changes to Medicare Part D by Congress.
Initially the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 had estimated saving Medicare $7.7 billion over the period of 10 years, but oversight from the CBO found that legislative changes to the drug discount program yielded...National News
On July 25, the House of Representatives passed a bill to loosen regulations for health savings accounts (HSAs), allowing spouses to contribute. The House also passed another bill letting more beneficiaries in on HSAs.
The Restoring Access to Medication and Modernizing Health Savings Accounts Act, HR6199, will grant plans...News
AzHHA releases financial information which includes improved overall operating income and continued stability in uncompensated care.The report focuses on the impact Medicaid expansion has had on lowering uncompensated care. Also included are stats about overall AHCCCS enrollment (falling), the hospital assessment and childless adults...National News
A federal report conducted by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on Tuesday revealed how some hospices take advantage of Medicare payments and in some cases, are negligent of patients.
Hospice services can play an essential role in ensuring the comfort of terminally ill patients. It is a popular Medicare benefit and...Arizona News
In the midst of a suit brought on by 12 Democratic attorney generals against the Trump administration, the President last week bragged about his new health plans and said they are already generating "record business."
Available to the public Sept. 1, the association health plans take a jab at the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which...
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