Phoenix-based Equality Health offers value-based care solutions dedicated to serving independent primary care practices in closing gaps in care. Last June, I had the opportunity to interview Mark Stephan, M.D., M.B.A., the company’s chief medical officer, about Equality Health’s ’Medicaid-first” business model. “The way we enter markets is in the Medicaid space, but we also…
A headline you’ve likely read in the last two months sounds something like this: “In its 10th performance year, the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) saved Medicare $1.8 billion after accounting for shared savings and losses.” It probably goes on to talk about physician-led accountable care organizations (ACOs) trumping non-physician-led ACOs, and low-revenue ACOs trumping high-revenue ACOs—trends…
According to critics, a decade of value-based care (VBC) efforts have proven an abject failure, improving neither cost nor quality of healthcare. Over 50 VBC program implementations have collectively lost billions of dollars as compared to traditional fee-for-service (FFS) benchmarks, they say, and can boast little to no clear improvement in quality outcomes. In short,…
Now in its seventh year, the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) continues to create confusion, especially for specialists. The program can have a big impact on Medicare Part B reimbursements, using the MIPS composite performance score to determine if providers will receive a payment bonus, a payment penalty, or no payment adjustment at all. Adjustments are…
The Medical Group Management Association this week asked for greater transparency from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT in its proposed information blocking rules – and outlined several key recommendations to ease the burden for healthcare providers. WHY IT MATTERS “More clarity is needed about how the program operates, the applicability of…
As we roll into 2024, new technologies are creating optimism around healthcare delivery. Intelligent technologies create opportunities for workforce efficiency, while data is powering much more sophisticated consumer experiences. We have the potential to deliver better more equitable health outcomes, but it will require the right focus. Here’s my breakdown of Top 10 trends impacting…
When listing their top objectives, hospital executives consistently cite improving health equity among their highest priorities. It’s been a popular discussion topic at healthcare conferences over the past year. Health equity is a glaring issue in cities and rural communities around the country. Leaders that are working in health equity speak with urgency about the…
As we kick off 2024, we wanted to start the new year with a series of 2024 Health IT predictions. We asked the Healthcare IT Today community to submit their predictions and we received a wide ranging set of responses that we grouped into a number of themes. In fact, we got so many that…
About 83% of life sciences and healthcare C-suite executives say that improving health equity is a top-10 goal in 2024, according to a recent report from Deloitte. In addition, 47% anticipate increasing health equity investments in 2024. “While most industry leaders we have spoken to see value in ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality…
South Florida accountable care organization (ACO) enrollment declined 24% between 2018 and 2021 year-end according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data. Over the same period: Miami-Dade County showed the largest decline (40%) from 29,123 enrollees to 17,378. Broward County enrollment dropped (21%) from 42,032 to 33,008. Plam Beach county enrollment declined (21%)…