Aquina Blog

Reported by The Hill, It has been widely reported that President-elect Trump’s nomination of Rep. Tom Price, an orthopedic surgeon, to be the next secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Seema Verma to be the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), has drawn many cheers from Republicans eager to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

According to Pantagraph, each year, business owners can count on changes in tax law and other rules. For 2017, small businesses are getting a bigger deduction for equipment purchases, and those that aren't required to provide health insurance will have an option to help staffers pay for coverage. Many companies have new filing deadlines for their tax returns, and owners who use their cars for business will get a slightly smaller deduction.

According to Healthcare IT News, the year ahead holds both opportunity and uncertainty, the consulting firm noted, with the Affordable Care Act’s fate coming into question as healthcare organizations move into the new world of value-based care and other advances.

As stated in the Harvard Business Review, As payers and providers in the U.S. health care system shift from fee for service to value-based approaches that pay providers for quality, they are turning to two models: One is procedure- and DRG-based bundled payments that pay one price for all the care related to treating a condition. The other is population-based “global” or “capitated” payments” such as accountable care organizations in which a provider is paid a fixed amount to cover all of a patient’s health needs for a specified period of time. The Center for Orthopedic Research and Education (or CORE Institute) — a group of musculoskeletal, neurologic, and rehabilitative physicians in Arizona and Michigan that includes orthopedic, spine, and pain-management physicians and a number of other types of clinicians — is pioneering an approach that represents a middle ground. It addresses a central criticism of bundled payments: that the approach doesn’t prevent unnecessary care.

Recently published in Healthcare Informatics, A new report from Deloitte found that the healthcare and life sciences industries have the most aggressive blockchain deployment plans of any sector, with 35 percent of surveyed respondents saying that their company plans to deploy the technology in production within the next calendar year.

CNBC reports, One by one, key health care industry groups are telling the incoming Republican administration and Congress that it's not a good idea to repeal the 2010 health care law without clear plans to address the consequences.

According to Home Health Care News, A new bill could expand who can conduct initial assessments for home health visits in certain cases. The bill, the Medicare Home Health Flexibility Act of 2016, would loosen some restrictions at a time when the industry has seen an influx of new, burdensome regulations.

A recent article published on Healthcare Dive states, for today's healthcare industry, finding and keeping top-notch physicians, nurses and other providers is key to patients’ wellbeing and high patient satisfaction scores. But competition for higher-quality talent is fierce and turnover can be high. According to Nursing Solutions’ 2016 Healthcare Staffing Survey, 67% of hospitals report rising turnover rates, with an average rate for bedside RNs of 16.4%. And according to the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration, 20.4% of healthcare employees — one in every five — quit their jobs each year.

A recent article on Monster asks, are you a healthcare professional who's feeling anything but merry about working yet another holiday shift? Healthcare veterans offer tips on how to banish your inner grinch and make the most of another holiday on the job.

Healthcare Finance reports, Hospital and health system consolidation will continue to build, giving the delivery system a significant makeover during the next decade, according to Health Care 2020: Consolidation, a new report published by the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Over that time, healthcare organizations will be challenged to prove that the changing landscape actually improves value to consumers.