Healthcare and the Fiscal Cliff

The Fiscal Cliff stories are everywhere and as a result, lots of misinformation, conjecture, and supposition of deals, no deals and what happens next abound within the media.  The economist in me can’t help but opine on the economics at stake but for this purpose, I’ll take only a slice of the overall issues; a … Read more

CBO Score on Post-Court ACA Implications Due Today

Later today, the Congressional Budget Office is set to release an updated “score” of the Affordable Care Act (PPACA) incorporating the decision of the Supreme Court.  The fundamental reason for the update is the Court’s decision to invalidate a provision within the Act that would have penalized states via reduced federal Medicaid funding should one or more opt … Read more

An Omission from Friday

Every once in a while, I make a mistake (rare I think but others when asked, would convey a different sentiment).  This gaff is really an omission; a missed thought from Friday’s post on “What’s Trending”.  In reviewing my notes (the mess that they can be), I noticed I forgot to include a “watch” tip for … Read more

CMS, Proposed ACO Regulations and a Post-Acute Analysis

Late last week, CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) issued the proposed regulations for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). As is typical with CMS and all things PPACA related, the document is nearly 500 pages. I have read and begun to digest (creating of course, indigestion) the entirety of the document. As I have prepared … Read more

Medicaid Expansion and the PPACA

Article I wrote for the National Healthcare Reform Magazine on the implications for Medicaid as a result of the expansion provisions under the health care reform law. Click on the link below (or copy and paste) to view the article. http://healthcarereformmagazine.com/article/health-reform-and-medicaid-expansion.html

Improving the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes Act of 2010: S 3407

Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold introduced a bill today targeted at “improving the quality of care in nursing homes”.  The bill was introduced by Feingold in response to the efforts of the Wisconsin Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (WAHSA – non-profit, industry trade association) to have the federal government investigate the wide discrepancies … Read more

Research Project: How much did your organization spend on H1N1 preparedness?

My firm (Grubb & Ellis/Apex Healthcare) is conducting a quick and simple research project, surveying health care providers regarding the costs incurred during their preparation for the H1N1 pandemic that never occurred.   We’d like anyone from a hospital, nursing home, assisted living facility, hospice, home health agency, physician’s practice, ambulance service, etc. to give us a brief … Read more

Strategies for Accomplishing New Development or Major Capital Projects

One of the focal areas of my consulting practice/work is assisting health care organizations in accessing sources of funding (securing financing basically) for major projects and/or new development.  Given the state of the economy, most specifically the capital markets over the past eighteen months, getting funding for capital projects and/or development has been challenging, though … Read more

Health Care Reform Implications: Medical Device and DME

Over the next few days I’ll be pushing out a series of posts as my schedule permits, on the implications of health care reform for various industry segments.  These are not meant as in-depth analyses, more of a “summary” of the key points. Reconciliation Act: This Bill has yet to pass the Senate and as a … Read more

Sharpen the Sales and Marketing Efforts in 2010

I lost track this past year of how many people I talked to that told me that, “organizationally, we are kind of stalled in developing new business because of the economy and health care reform”.  I know that in down economic periods, promotion budgets (advertising, sponsorships,etc.) are some of the first line items trimmed but … Read more