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- September 10, 2013
Life as an Independent Rural Hospital: Q&A With Duncan Regional Hospital CFO Doug Volinski
By Bridgette Olson on September 10, 2013Read moreThree and a half years ago, Doug Volinski, CFO of Duncan (Okla.) Regional Hospital, arrived at the small independent hospital with a growing plate of experience. He previously was the compliance officer at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, Texas eventually becoming Valley Baptist’s interim CFO and ultimately its...
00 - September 10, 2013
Colorado’s Data Tangle Shows Strain for Obamacare Targets
By Bridgette Olson on September 10, 2013Read moreWith 33 days and counting until online health insurance exchanges must open for business, states are racing to fine-tune computer systems, educate consumers and manage expectations. Marketplaces in California and Oregon said this month that technical hurdles may force consumers to apply with a broker or counselor instead of...
- September 10, 2013
Moody’s: 132 Statistics on Nonprofit Hospital Medians
By Bridgette Olson on September 10, 2013Read moreLast week, Moody’s Investors Service issued its annual medians report for nonprofit hospitals, finding that providers had a strong balance sheet in fiscal year 2012 but profitability metrics were down compared with FY 2011. For the first time since FY 2008, Moody’s found expenses outpaced revenue in nonprofit hospitals...
- September 10, 2013
Criminal allegations in NM behavioral health system no surprise to one advocate
By Bridgette Olson on September 10, 2013Read more“I haven’t read the audit” of the providers in question, “but I do have concerns about the … allegations because it wouldn’t surprise me,” said Carol Miller, a longtime critic of the way behavioral health is carried out in New Mexico. “Patients and beneficiaries are often the low priorities.”...
- September 10, 2013
How the ACA will impact veterans and their families
By Bridgette Olson on September 10, 2013Read moreThe U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently gave a presentation to HRSA and other HHS representatives here in Denver on the topic of how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will impact veterans and their families. They provided some resources to help veterans and their families understand what the...
- September 10, 2013
Exclusive: Technical snafus confuse charges for Obamacare plans
By Bridgette Olson on September 10, 2013Read moreTechnical glitches still plague the display of new healthcare plans to be offered to millions of uninsured Americans starting in 26 days, including how medical charges and deductibles are listed, industry officials say. Health insurers planning to sell policies to people who are currently uninsured, under PresidentBarack Obama’s healthcare...
- September 10, 2013
How the Health Care Law is making a difference for the people of Colorado
By Bridgette Olson on September 10, 2013Read moreBecause of the Affordable Care Act, the 85% of Coloradans who have insurance have more choices and stronger coverage than ever before. And for the 15% of Coloradans who don’t have insurance, or Colorado families and small businesses who buy their coverage but aren’t happy with it, a new...
- September 10, 2013
Care coordination may lead to less competition, higher prices, article says
By Bridgette Olson on September 10, 2013Read moreBetter medical care may arise from new public policies to promote more coordination from hospitals, doctors and others in healthcare, but there may be a high price to pay, two economists cautioned in a new article. More coordination may lead to less competition and greater leverage for hospitals and...
- September 10, 2013
Reform Update: N.Y. joins controversial care-coordination pilot for dual-eligibles
By Bridgette Olson on September 10, 2013Read moreDespite controversy surrounding a national pilot to coordinate coverage and care for people dually enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare, New York announced Monday it would join six other states in the demonstration headed by the CMS. The program, called the Financial Alignment Initiative and authorized by the Patient Protection...
- September 10, 2013
The Commonwealth Fund Connection Survey: Millions of young adults gaining health coverage under Affordable Care Act, but awareness of new marketplaces still low
By Bridgette Olson on September 10, 2013Read moreAn estimated 7.8 million of the 15 million young adults who were enrolled in a parent’s health insurance plan last year likely would not have been eligible for this coverage without the health reform law’s dependent coverage provision, according to a new Commonwealth Fund survey. But as of March 2013,...