Economics

This channel highlights factors that impact hospital and healthcare economics and revenue. This includes news on healthcare policies, reimbursement, marketing, business plans, mergers and acquisitions, supply chain, salaries, staffing, and the implementation of a cost-effective environment for patients and providers.

Express Scripts, Cigna announce $25 cap on patients’ monthly insulin costs

Diabetics enrolled in certain drug benefits plans through Cigna and Express Scripts could see their out-of-pocket costs for insulin capped at $25 per month, according to an April 3 announcement. But one diabetes advocate called the move "a stopgap at best" and said it doesn't address the larger issue of sky-high list prices.

April 4, 2019
Price transparency study in radiology

What role should physicians play in healthcare’s move toward price transparency?

The federal mandate that went into effect Jan. 1 requiring hospitals to post prices of their services online isn’t doing much good, according to the authors of an opinion piece published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

April 3, 2019

FDA releases framework for reviewing AI-based medical devices

In a first step to develop a set of AI-specific rules and regulations, the FDA released a discussion paper April 3 detailing how it plans to vet and approve AI medical devices without compromising quality or patient safety.

April 3, 2019

CMS proposes updates to national coverage determination for TAVR

CMS has proposed an update to its national coverage policy for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), which would require hospitals to perform 50 aortic valve replacements each year to maintain a TAVR program—including at least 20 TAVRs.

March 27, 2019

Montana ranked best place to be a doctor in US

Montana offers the most favorable work environment for physicians in 2019, according to a new report from WalletHub that ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia on 18 different metrics.

March 25, 2019
Adults who regularly drink sweetened beverages face a heightened risk of atrial fibrillation (AFib), according to new data published in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology.

AHA, AAP recommend policies to limit kids’ sugary drink consumption

The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a joint policy statement March 25 recommending a series of public health measures aimed at reducing children’s consumption of sugary beverages.

March 25, 2019

Heart attack patient’s $227K balance highlights inconsistent billing practices

A woman who was on the hook for nearly $227,000 in medical bills after suffering a heart attack and other complications had her balance wiped out by a medical charity waiver, Kaiser Health News reported. But that didn’t save Debbie Moehnke and her husband, Larry, the stress of mounting medical bills and calls from debt collectors, and the story highlights how inconsistent billing practices could impact other patients.

March 22, 2019

Trump’s budget proposal cuts $486M from cardiovascular research

President Trump’s budget proposal for 2020 would negatively impact almost every institute at the NIH, including trimming the funding for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute by about $486 million.

March 12, 2019

Around the web

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

Kate Hanneman, MD, explains why many vendors and hospitals want to lower radiology's impact on the environment. "Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity," she said. "It’s also a responsibility."

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