Without opposition, the Senate greenlighted legislation designed to “streamline the process” allowing smaller-sized independent hospitals to partner with larger health systems, removing “redundant” barriers created by a 1945 act.

The principal stakeholder behind SB 944 was the North Ottawa Community Health System (NOCHS), which operates an 81-bed hospital in Grand Haven and—near the end of March—entered a non-binding letter of intent to discuss the feasibility of joining Trinity Health, according to a report from the Grand Haven Tribune.

In 1996, the six local municipalities formerly responsible for the NOCHS voted to transition it from the statute of an authority over to a 501(c)(3) organization.

SB 944 aims to eliminate the need for a [Read More]

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Now, as the pandemic’s acute phase seemingly draws to an end, millions of low-income and middle-income Americans are at risk of losing health insurance. The United States might see one of the steepest increases in the country’s uninsured rate in years.

When the federal COVID-19 public health emergency ends — as it is currently scheduled to on April 15, though it is likely to be extended — so will many of its associated insurance protections. That includes a rule forbidding states to kick anyone off Medicaid while COVID-19 raged, which came along with a 6.2-percentage-point boost in federal Medicaid funding to keep these most vulnerable patients insured.

Before the pandemic, [Read More]

By EWA MATUSZEWSKI
One of my most interesting, recurring roles as a healthcare CEO is to lead physicians, APPs, care teams and executives in a webinar series on implicit/unconscious bias under the umbrella focus of diversity, equity and inclusion. I initially developed an implicit/unconscious bias learning activity for Practice Transformation Institute and the Michigan Osteopathic Association and was recently asked by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to expand the curriculum. I am grateful for the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue on a subject I am passionate about.

One of my main goals in this series is to expand considerations of DEI and implicit/unconscious bias beyond race, gender and sexual orientation [Read More]

By JENNIFER COLAGIOVANNI, ESQ.
Wachler & Associates, P.C.

Meet one of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) newest contractors. CMS contracts with a Supplemental Review Contractor (SMRC) to help lower improper payment rates through audit and medical review activities. Noridian Healthcare Solutions, which is also a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC), was selected as the SMRC in 2018.

The SMRC conducts nationwide medical reviews for compliance with coverage, coding, payment, and billing requirements based on CMS-directed topic selections and timeframes. CMS assigns the focus project to the SMRC via a formal notification process. Review topics focus on issues identified through national claims data analysis from the Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) program, [Read More]

A brief look into the Good Faith Estimate rules of the No Surprises Act, the National Crisis Hotline, and the New Act Promoting Mental Health among Health Care Professionals

By ERICA A. ERMAN

No Surprises Act: Behavioral Health Considerations Regarding the Good Faith Estimate Provisions

With the passage of the No Surprises Act, effective January 1, 2022, providers and facilities are now required to provide Good Faith Estimates to uninsured and self-pay individuals detailing the cost of the primary service or item needed and the cost of services or items that are customarily provided in conjunction with that primary item or service. This is relevant across the entire health care sphere, but is [Read More]

At-Home Care Provider Believes $400 Insurance Refund Was Inflated

Lansing Lines is presented in cooperation with MIRS, a Lansing-based news and information service.

An at-home care provider for catastrophic car accident survivors is accusing the governor of “inflating and expediting” the $400 per-vehicle refunds, claiming it was inappropriately calculated as “a political favor.”

Based on his calculations, Bob Mlynarek, the co-owner of 1st Call Home Healthcare, said the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) should have limited the reimbursement to $78 per driver in order to stay in line with the state law that lays out the calculations under which a refund is triggered.

“You tell me in the insurance code or the MCCA Plan [Read More]