Tony Abraham
Healthcare Dive
Philadelphia, PA, United States
Contact Tony
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Past articles by Tony:
Home visits help identify 'complex needs,' but ACO difficulties persist
A new Health Affairs study found ACOs are using home visits to reduce hospitalizations, improve care management and identify unmet needs. Implementation and ability to address those needs remain a challenge. → Read More
US healthcare spending estimated to grow to $3.6T this year
Fitch Solutions anticipates a 4% growth rate, below a CMS forecast from earlier this year but still driven heavily by Medicare. Private insurance is not expected to be a primary contributor to spending growth. → Read More
Upcoding may have led to higher MA payments
New research points to overstated risk differences between Medicare Advantage and traditional fee-for-service populations, which the authors say are the result of upcoding within the risk adjustment system. → Read More
Physician revenues have jumped 52% since 2016
Cardiologists, neurosurgeons and orthopaedic and cardiovascular surgeons are the highest revenue-generators among their peers, each netting more than $3 million a year for their hospitals, according to a Merritt Hawkins survey. → Read More
Phishing, device insecurity biggest vulnerabilities for healthcare organizations
Sending data to the wrong recipient is the most common security threat within the industry, according to Verizon. → Read More
UPMC revenue, expenses up in Q1
The Pittsburgh-based nonprofit pulled in $257 million from investment and financing gains but continues to struggle with shrinking margins. → Read More
CBO wades into 'Medicare for All' debate, sidesteps landmines for now
Providers and payers seized on the report to cement their opposition to single-payer policies, but the government agency avoided analysis of any specific plan. → Read More
Humana beats Q1 expectations as MA growth continues
CEO Bruce Broussard on Wednesday became the latest payer chief to speak out against "Medicare for All" type plans and highlighted the threat they pose to the Medicare Advantage market. → Read More
HCA beats revenue estimates, logs 20th straight quarter of admissions growth
The chain is coming off its $1.5 billion purchase of Mission Health. Executives told investors Tuesday they are pleased with how the integration is going and Mission's "performance is on plan at this point." → Read More
Tenet slows bleeding volumes in Q1 beat, Conifer sale lingers
The Dallas-based hospital operator cut net losses and posted improved admissions on a same-facility basis, but revenue still slipped due to divestitures and struggling subsidiary Conifer. → Read More
UHS sees net income, revenue gains in Q1
The hospital operator narrowly missed analysts' expectations. Shares were down roughly 5% after the company's earnings call Friday morning. → Read More
Healthcare jobs grow at rapid clip, but wages lag amid consolidation boom
Some economists and academics attribute the slowdown to hospital consolidation and concentrated labor markets. → Read More
3 issues that put VA officials on defense in front of Congress this week
VA Secretary Robert Wilkie and others argued in a series of hearings that the agency is prepared to roll out its community care program by the deadline two months from now and that its EHR implementation woes are improving. → Read More
AHA claims hospital outpatient clinics treat sicker patients than ambulatory centers
The hospital group is currently involved in a lawsuit filed against CMS over site-neutral payment rate changes that ultimately reduce reimbursements for off-campus hospital outpatient departments. → Read More
Hospitals look to venture capital as R&D extension
UPMC Enterprises President Tal Heppenstall told Healthcare Dive the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center venture arm plans on spinning out two companies by the middle of this year. → Read More
CMS finalizes nontraditional MA benefits, use of encounter data
The agency is allowing MA plans to cover expenditures associated with social determinants of health, such as covering the cost of fresh produce for beneficiaries with heart disease or carpet cleaning for people with asthma. → Read More
Kaiser, union coalition return to bargaining table
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions claimed the health system violated federal law by proposing a ban on employees speaking out about patient care issues or taking public action against the company. → Read More
Revenue, outpatient volume rise in Advocate-Aurora's debut year
Home, physician and outpatient visits all rose for the newly merged company in 2018, and revenue increased 3.5%. → Read More
GAO finds 'small number' of payers dominate private, ACA markets
The three largest payers in most states owned 80% or more of the private market in 2016, with even more concentration in state ACA exchanges up to 2017, the watchdog agency said. → Read More
Medicare, Medicaid advisory commissions alarmed by DSH cuts
The latest reports to Congress from the payment advisory commissions call for a sweeping redesign of quality measurement programs and signal concern for the financial viability of critical access hospitals. → Read More