The share of downside payment in employer plans has stagnated, moving from 5.7% in 2012 to 6% in 2017. Shared savings arrangements increased from 23.7% of payments to providers in 2016 to 29.7% in 2017. Value-based payment advocates urged employers to push providers to take on more downside risk. Employer-sponsored plans, which cover half of Americans, in recent years have charged into payment models that offer bonus payment options. But both risk-based payment and performance on clinical...

Significant upcoming events in healthcare finance include a high-profile congressional hearing on a range of Democratic proposals to expand government-funded healthcare coverage. Information on that event is below, along with our complete listing of healthcare finance-related hearings, conferences, webinars, public forums and deadlines for the week of Dec. 9. Monday, Dec. 9 Health Week at the Bipartisan Policy Center, Washington, D.C. (through Dec. 11). Learn more. Webinar by America’s...

Spending on hospital care increased from $1.1 trillion in 2017 to $1.2 trillion in 2018 but stayed at 33% of overall healthcare spending. Commercial health plans drove hospital revenue, with a 5.9% increase in hospital spending. A 2.1% increase in medical prices was blamed, in part, on greater economywide inflation. The restarted federal tax on health plans in 2018 was the largest driver of increased spending on healthcare that year, according to federal actuaries. The finding came from the...

The 47 hospitals that have closed in 2019 were mostly small and located in Medicaid non-expansion states. The closures come as Medicare margins remain near record lows. The closures were driven by excess patient capacity and reductions in patient volumes, according to MedPAC. Hospital closures tracked by a congressional advisory panel reached 47 by early December— more than double the total for 2018. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) revealed its tracking of hospital closures...

Not-for-profit hospitals’ operating cash flow is expected to improve by between 2% and 3% in 2020. Congress is expected to delay payment cuts to Disproportionate Share Hospitals until late 2020. Commercial health plan rate increases are expected to average in the low single digits. The financial outlook for not-for-profit (NFP) hospitals has moved from negative to stable due to improved revenue and delayed Medicaid cuts, according a rating agency. Moody’s Investors Service issued a report...