Here are seven updates:
Kaiser Permanente to construct $7.6M ASC
Kaiser Permanente, headquartered in Denver, plans to build an ambulatory surgery center in Honolulu. The $7.6 million surgery center will house two surgical suites for eye and plastic surgeries.
Ambulatory care spending rose 7.4% in Q1 2016
A U.S. Department of Commerce Quarterly Services Survey found ambulatory care spending increased 7.4 percent in the first quarter of 2016, compared to the first quarter of 2015. Within the ambulatory care industry, outpatient centers saw a spending increase of 11 percent in the first quarter, compared to the first quarter of 2015. Physicians' offices experienced a 7.4 percent increase from the first quarter of 2015.
GAO: Medicare failing to control appeals; wait time increases 8%+
A Government Accountability Office report found the number of appeals from physicians and patients challenging denied claims is escalating and the backlog "shows no signs of abating." In the fiscal year 2009, the average wait time for a Medicare appeal decision was 94.9 days. That figure has increased to 819.4 days in fiscal year 2016.
AHIP undergoes significant transformations: 4 things to know
On June 7, America's Health Insurance Plan reported it is scrutinizing its membership fees and will undergo "major restructuring." Despite UnitedHealth Group and Aetna leaving AHIP, the lobby group appointed two chairman including Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish for 2017 and Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard Tyson for 2018.
Top 5 states with the highest ASC patient burn rates
CMS released the results for its 2014 Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting Program, which cited the states with the highest rates and lowest rates for patient burn. The national average in 2014 for these sentinel events was 0.364, up from the 2013 average of 0.247.The states with the highest rates include Colorado, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Delaware and Florida.
Employee found dead in Bronx hospital
An employee at NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx Hospital was found dead in the hospital last week. The 48-year-old man was found deceased at about 10 a.m. Police sources told New York Daily News that the employee may have died of a heart attack, and no foul play is suspected.
Dr. David Cohen named NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center's GI chief
Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City named David E. Cohen, MD, chief of gastroenterology and hepatology. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center recruited Dr. Cohen from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, where he currently serves as director of hepatology.
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