On April 27, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposed rules for payment and policy updates for the Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for fiscal year (FY) 2022. Other than the changes in IPPS and LTCH payment rates, the most notable portion of the proposed rule is the health equity incentives proposed by CMS. (Read more...)

On May 4, 2021, the National Academies for Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) released a major report expressing a dire need to improve primary care in the U.S. Since January 2020, an extensive committee within NASEM has worked to develop an implementation plan that will reopen the discussion of improving primary care as a means to improving overall health and achieving health equity. (Read more...)

A recent study from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) indicates that quality and patient outcomes suffer in hospitals that cannot maintain their relationships with banks and their lines of credit. The NBER study measured quality and cost data in Medicare-certified hospitals from 2010 to 2016, during which banks were undergoing annual stress tests. Regulatory “stress tests” are annual assessments from the Federal Reserve, put in place after the Great Recession in 2008, to examine a bank’s ability to survive an impending economic crisis. (Read more...) 

This article is the fourth and final installment of the four-part series discussion valuation considerations and distinctions between ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and office-based laboratories (OBLs). Part three of this series covered value driver considerations related to ASCs, and this article will cover those considerations for OBLs. While the value drivers identified for OBLs are similar to those of ASCs, there are specific dynamics related to OBLs that should be taken into consideration during the appraisal process. (Read more...) 
REGISTER HERE
It is not too late to register! The NACVA 2021 Business Valuation and Financial Litigation Hybrid & Virtual Super Conference, on June 21-25, 2021, will feature a two-day healthcare valuation track presented by HCC alongside a blockbuster lineup of speakers. The track will bridge the interdisciplinary nature of healthcare valuation to include: the Four Pillars of Healthcare (regulatory, reimbursement, competition, and technology); the market forces shaping the U.S. healthcare industry; and the valuation of healthcare enterprises, assets, and services.

FREE WEBINAR
This one-hour webinar provides legal and valuation perspectives on the finalized changes to the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute. Specific issues covered include:

  • The changes to the “big three” requirements – Fair Market Value, Commercial Reasonableness, and the Volume or Value Standard;
  • The new exceptions and safe harbors for value-based arrangements, including where the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute final rules differ; and
  • Other new and modified exceptions and safe harbors included in the final rules.