ACOs and the Shared Savings Program – Part II: Unanswered Questions

Posted by Jason Greis on October 12, 2010 under Articles | Comments are off for this article

In addition to the numerous misconceptions about Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and the Shared Savings Program, there are a number of unknowns regarding implementation, including permitted legal structures, payment amounts, and performance measurement. This article identifies and discusses some of the more significant unanswered questions about ACOs and the Shared Savings Program.  Read More...

ACOs and the Shared Savings Program: Some Common Misconceptions

Posted by Jason Greis on October 2, 2010 under Articles | Be the First to Comment

Section 3022 of the Patient Protection and Accountable Care Act (the Act) creates the Shared Savings Program for Medicare. Under the Shared Savings Program, which is to take effect no later than Jan. 1, 2012, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) that meet certain requirements established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services will be eligible to receive additional payments from Medicare where certain performance guidelines are met and cost-savings targets are achieved. The amount of the additional payment will be a percentage of the difference between the estimated per capita Medicare expenditures for patients assigned to the ACO and the cost-savings per capita Medicare expenditures threshold. Read More...

Kindred Continues Expansion through Acquisitions

Posted by Jason Greis on August 28, 2010 under Articles, Industry News | Be the First to Comment

Kindred Healthcare has moved to expand its market presence in key cluster markets in California and Texas by signing definitive agreements to purchase five LTACHs in southern California for $180 million and three Texas-based nursing and rehabilitation centers for $38 million in two separate all-cash deals for a total purchase price of $218 million.  Both transactions require regulatory approvals and are expected to close later this year. Read More...

Complimentary McGuireWoods Webinar: The Impact of Healthcare Reform on Hospital Consolidation

Posted by Jason Greis on August 24, 2010 under Events | Be the First to Comment

Thursday, September 16, 2010
Noon – 1 p.m. (ET) | 11 a.m. – Noon (CT) | 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. (PT)
Complimentary Webinar
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Strategies for Hospital Leadership – Identifying Strengths, Allocating Hospital Resources and Focusing on Profitable Niche Leadership

Posted by Jason Greis on August 16, 2010 under Whitepapers | Be the First to Comment

This is a great time for hospital leadership and boards to reevaluate their strategies.   The attached whitepaper written by two of my colleagues, Scott Becker and Bart Walker, contains eight core thoughts and concepts on strategic planning for hospitals. Read More...

CMS Issues Proposed Rule on Changes to Stark In-Office Ancillary Services Exception

Posted by Jason Greis on August 12, 2010 under Articles | Be the First to Comment

Section 6003 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148 (H.R. 3590) (PPACA) makes a change to the “in-office ancillary services” exception to the Stark physician self-referral law that impacts physician practices providing certain radiology services in their offices. In short, the change requires physicians making a referral for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and computed tomography (CT), or certain other radiology services in their offices, to make a disclosure to the patient that such services can be provided elsewhere and to include a list of alternative providers. Read More...