Internal medicine is the largest specialty among active physicians in the U.S., comprising 120,171 physicians of 938,980 total active physicians in the U.S. in 2019. The strain on the healthcare delivery system as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (and the resulting financial impact on independent practices) and the continued increase in demand for healthcare services by the aging Baby Boomer population may serve to spur more transactions in this space (related to internal medicine practices as well as internist employment agreements and professional services arrangements). This first installment in a five-part series will introduce the internal medicine specialty. (Read more...)
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An August 2021 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) analyzed medical and surgical episodes of care in U.S. hospitals to determine whether outcomes differed in hospitals that participated in Medicare’s Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) Initiative depending on whether the patient being treated was attributed to a Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) accountable care organization (ACO). This Health Capital Topics article will discuss the study’s findings and potential policy implications. (Read more...)
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Approximately 250 hospitals across the U.S. are completely or partially physician owned. These physician-owned hospitals (POHs) can offer a variety of services, from general care to specialty services, such as cardiovascular or orthopedic care, known as “focused factories.” Over the past several decades, healthcare providers and policymakers have claimed that POHs have a negative impact on the healthcare industry, suggesting that: (1) POHs “cherry-pick” the most profitable patients; (2) the quality of care provided at POHs is substandard; and, (3) conflicts of interest exist due to the financial incentive for physician owners to refer patients to their POHs. (Read more...)
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It has been well documented that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unprecedented increases in telemedicine utilization across the U.S. However, rural providers and patients, as evidenced by their lower rates of telemedicine usage during this time, have not been able to take advantage of the opportunities provided by telemedicine to the same extent as urban providers. On August 18, 2021, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the latest attempt to ameliorate this issue – the distribution of nearly $20 million to 36 recipients for the purpose of strengthening telehealth services in rural and underserved communities and expanding innovation and quality. (Read more...)
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"Recent Settlement Highlights Importance of FMV Physician Compensation" authored by HCC President, Todd A. Zigrang, MBA, MHA, FACHE, CVA, ASA, and, HCC Vice President and General Counsel, Jessica Bailey-Wheaton, Esq., was published by the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA) in a recent issue of QuickRead.
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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.
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