Falling Inpatient Revenues at Many Hospitals Is Sign of Healthcare’s Transition to New Models of Integrated Clinical Care and Changes in Medical Laboratory Test Utilization
Statistics indicate that inpatient admissions and revenues are falling nationally, a development that affects clinical laboratories in hospitals and health systems
One important trend that directly impacts the medical laboratories of hospitals and health systems is the falling rate of inpatient registrations seen nationally in recent years. What exacerbates this trend is the fact that many payers are cutting the prices they pay for certain inpatient services.
Collectively, these two developments mean less inpatient revenue for many hospitals and that often translates into reduced budgets for the clinical laboratories.
But that is not the whole story concerning inpatient revenue. Spurred by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and other market developments, payers now want to shift reimbursement away from fee-for-service to new models of reimbursement. This includes capitation or bundled payment models. (more…)
