CMS Proposal Aims to Have Hospitals to Publish Negotiated Rates

The biggest story this week was the unveiling of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) proposed rule to mandate price transparency from hospitals. As my colleague John Commins wrote, "hospitals would make public their 'standard charges' for both gross charges and payer-specific negotiated charges for all items and services." CMS Administrator Seema Verma stated that the rule would be consumer-friendly and increase competition among hospitals which would ultimately lower costs.

Also, be sure to check out our roundup of the healthcare earnings reports released this week!

lead story
CMS Unveils Sweeping Proposed Mandates on Hospital Pricing Transparency

Under the proposed rule hospitals would have to make their 'real, negotiated prices known to patients.'

Q2 Healthcare Earnings Roundup

UHS Inc.: Though the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based hospital management company saw its net income rise by $12 million to $238.3 million, while its net revenues rose 6.5% to 2.86 billion, focus on UHS' earnings centered primarily on the $127 million Department of Justice settlement.
Magellan Health: The Scottsdale-based for-profit managed care company's Q2 earnings report featured a slide in several important metrics but was overshadowed by the announcement of the planned retirement of CEO Barry Smith.
WellCare Health Plans: The highlight of the quarter for the Tampa-based insurer was shareholder approval of its pending Centene merger.
Fresenius Medical Care: The German-based dialysis company reported year-over-year revenue growth of 3%, but suffered from sharp declines in operating income, net income and earnings per share.
Encompass Health: Despite its $48 million settlement with the Department of Justice, Encompass enjoyed a financially successful Q2.
HCA Healthcare: The Nashville-based for-profit hospital operator's revenues went up slightly, but other metrics missed the mark.
Molina Healthcare: CEO Joe Zubretsky said that the insurer's first half performance gives the company confidence to lift its year-end guidance.
Humana Inc.: As a result of its strong performance at the midway point of 2019, the Louisville-based insurer again updated its EPS guidance for the full year.
Cigna Corp.: The insurer built on its strong start to 2019, notching nearly $39 billion in total revenues and shareholders' net income of $1.4 billion, an increase of $600 million year-over-year.
Teladoc Health: The telemedicine company topped $130 million in total revenues during Q2 and named a new COO.

Sponsored
How Not-For Profit Healthcare Organizations Differ From For-Profits

Succeeding as a nonprofit health system in the rapidly consolidating provider market is a challenge. Download the latest HealthLeaders Roundtable Report to learn more!

analysis
Days After CEO Departs, HCSC CFO Exits As Well

Health Care Service Corporation CFO Eric Feldstein had been with the company since 2016.
HCSC: "We appreciate Eric Feldstein’s contributions in his time as chief financial officer at HCSC, most notably to the company’s financial strength and strong culture of ethics and compliance. We wish him well in the future."
S&P Global Ratings: "The unexpected changes give us pause because they may indicate a strategic shift for the future of the company. However, we don't think there is a 'smoking gun' that is yet to be found."

revenue cycle
Telemedicine Reimbursement, Coverage is Better Than Ever

"The question of how telehealth can improve hospital revenue cycles is an evolving area worthy of additional study beyond the ATA Report," says the American Telemedicine Association's CEO.
Revenue Cycle Editor Alexandra Wilson Pecci also spoke with the cofounder of OODA Health again to get an update on its real-time healthcare payments pilot program with Dignity Health.
You should also sign up for the Revenue Cycle newsletter for the latest news as well as trends from the world of revenue cycle.

analysis
Healthcare Stocks, Dow Index Slide After Fed Cuts Rates

After the Federal Reserve's decision to cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a point, a majority of healthcare stocks experienced a late afternoon slide.
The Dow Jones U.S. Health Care Index bottomed at 1.50% within an hour of Chairman Jerome "Jay" Powell's announcement, after spending most of Wednesday in the black. By 3:05 p.m., the index was only down 0.60%.

Must Reads

How tech-infused primary care centers turned One Medical into a $2 billion business — CNBC
Health investors struggle under weight of Washington's what-ifs — Bloomberg
Buy a failing hospital and profit. This could be a dangerous new playbook for rich investors — CNN
UnitedHealth grows in market questioned by critics — The Star Tribune
Opinion: Insured price: $2,758. Cash price: $521. Could our healthcare system be any dumber? — Los Angeles Times
Hospital CEO says more price disclosure won't bring down healthcare costs — Yahoo! Finance

Final Notes

Send any tips, story ideas, thoughts, calendar items, press releases, criticisms, corrections, or general advice to jobrien@healthleadersmedia.com.

If email isn't your thing, follow me on Twitter at @imjackobrien, (along with the official HealthLeaders account, @HealthLeaders), or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Don't forget to tell your friends and colleagues about our weekly newsletter, they can sign up for free by following this link.

I will see all of you on August 8, during the CFO Exchange!

That's all, folks.

Jack O'Brien
Finance Editor