Tag: Medicare Advantage

Managed Care Contracting Is Now a Margin Test

Health Policy and Economics

Managed Care Contracting Is a Margin Test

Managed care contracting now determines far more than a rate sheet. For post-acute and senior living leaders, it is a test of margin, access, and control….
Medicare Advantage vs Traditional Medicare

Health Policy and Economics

Medicare Advantage vs Traditional Medicare

Medicare Advantage vs traditional Medicare is no longer a beneficiary-choice discussion alone. It is a market-structure issue affecting referral patterns, hospital utilization, post-acute length of stay, network access, risk-bearing arrangements, and the financial viability of…

Health Policy and Economics

The Future of Healthcare Reimbursement Models

For years, healthcare operators have heard the same directive: move from volume to value. The future of healthcare reimbursement models, however, will not be settled by a slogan or a single CMS demonstration. It will…

How Reimbursement Cuts Affect Margins in Post-Acute Care

Health Policy and Economics

How Reimbursement Cuts Affect Margins

Medicare post-acute care (PAC) reimbursement is increasingly driven by stricter federal spending controls, closer Medicare Advantage (MA) utilization oversight, and limited rate increases. Current policy priorities center on value-based accountability, shifts to lower-intensity care settings,…

Health Policy and Economics

Update: Medicare Advantage Prior Authorization

A review of Medicare Advantage prior authorization starts with an operational reality: a clinically appropriate service can be delayed, redirected, or denied before the provider ever has an opportunity to deliver it. For hospitals, skilled…

How Value Based Care Affects Healthcare Operators

Health Policy and Economics

The Impact of Value-Based Care

The practical question is not whether value-based care affects operators. It already does. The more consequential question is whether an organization recognizes the change early enough to redesign how it manages referrals, clinical performance, workforce…

Post Acute Care Compliance Checklist for 2026

Home Health

Post Acute Care Compliance Checklist for 2026

For years, and littered throughout this site, are pieces (and presentations) I have done on compliance. Some goodies are below. https://rhislop3.com/2023/09/07/five-quality-and-compliance-tips/ https://rhislop3.com/2018/11/16/the-real-impacts-of-poor-quality-inadequate-compliance-and-weak-risk-management/ https://rhislop3.com/2018/11/29/follow-up-real-impacts-of-poor-quality-and-lax-compliance/ https://rhislop3.com/2019/06/14/the-connection-between-quality-and-revenue/ The one major implication of solid (or not) compliance is the…

Health Policy and Economics

Healthcare Economics Trends 2026

The most consequential healthcare economics trends 2026 will not be driven by a single law, rate update, or election headline. They will come from the collision of four forces that now define the sector –…

Health Policy and Economics

What CMS Medicare Regulatory Relief Signals

CMS did not put out the View Rule as a routine paperwork exercise. For operators already carrying margin pressure, survey exposure, labor inflation, and reimbursement uncertainty, this request for information is a signal. It suggests CMS is…

Health Policy and Economics

Federal Healthcare Policy Updates in Focus

Washington rarely changes healthcare overnight. It changes incentives first, then scrutiny, then payment. For operators across senior living, post-acute care, home health, hospice, and the broader provider landscape, that is why federal healthcare policy updates…

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Reg

Healthcare executive, consultant, and author covering post-acute care, senior living, and the economics behind both - for 30+ years.

The Weekly Briffing

No noise - just what changed in healthcare policy and economics, and why it matters to your operation.