What About Hospital Patient Care Costs?

04/09/2013

About five years ago, a “think tank” and university published total Medicare costs per beneficiary in different regions of the country. They stated Texas had some of the highest health care costs in the nation. I contacted the people who conducted the study, reviewed their raw data and extracted only acute care hospital expenses. My analysis revealed acute care hospital … Read More

Love discusses sequester threat to health care

02/27/2013

In response to the potential sequester’s cuts to Medicare, the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council President and CEO Steve Love was interviewed by Bill Hethcock of The Dallas Business Journal in a Feb. 26 blog. “Sequester cuts to Medicare will eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs and cut hospital margins dangerously thin,” Love said. “We think as you look at the … Read More

Peeling Back the Onion

01/22/2013

U.S. healthcare spending grew 3.9 percent in 2011, reaching $2.7 trillion and representing three consecutive years of slow growth. Healthcare spending as a percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remained stable at 17.9. If we peel back the onion to look at how U.S. healthcare dollars are spent, we might be surprised. Hospital patient care represents only 31 percent of … Read More

Is the fiscal cliff really over?

01/09/2013

We need to look at health care impact on hospitals over the past two years and not just focus on the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 recently passed by the Senate and House. Hospitals in North Texas and across the nation realized the need to reform health care delivery. They supported the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act … Read More

The 83rd Texas Legislative Session

11/16/2012

The 83rd Texas Legislative Session for Texas convenes at noon on January 8, 2013. We thank our legislators for their public service to the State of Texas and hope for a constructive, collaborative bipartisan session regarding our state issues. Many priorities relating to the budget, public education, transportation, labor and workforce and the state’s environment will be discussed and reviewed. … Read More

Can we build good wings?

10/25/2012

Ray Bradbury once said “living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.” Admittedly, he was referring to a sense of adventure and embracing boldness in life. His quote might also describe the financial cliff we are facing at the beginning of 2013. This cliff includes tax increases due to the expiration of … Read More

Love interviewed by CBS Evening News

10/02/2012

With part of the Affordable Care Act going into effect, the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council’s President and CEO Steve Love offered his insight for CBS Evening News Monday evening, October 1. Love was interviewed for Anna Werner‘s segment involving Medicare reimbursement penalties. As detailed, hospitals now face big fines if too many patients have to be readmitted because of complications. … Read More

Readmissions – A Complex Issue

10/01/2012

In October each year we enjoy the State Fair of Texas, fall festivals, carving pumpkins and Texas football at all levels. This year a new event begins Oct. 1, 2012 resulting from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). A readmissions provision imposes financial penalties on hospitals for “excess” readmissions when compared to “expected” levels of readmission. Generally, hospitals … Read More

Uninsured Trends – Behind the Numbers

09/12/2012

The U.S. Census Bureau released numbers today reflecting an estimated 48.6 million uninsured population for medical care in the United States. This estimate represents a 1.4 million decrease from an estimated 50 million uninsured in 2010, or 16.3-15.7 percent during the same period. This sounds encouraging. So what created this slight decrease? Young adults accounted for the largest drop in … Read More

Challenges and Solutions

05/03/2012

Hospitals face challenges every day while ensuring patients have timely access to services. Some selected, pressing challenges are: • Continued high cost for technology, equipment and medical devices • Pharmaceutical costs and many critical drugs in short supply • Attracting and training physicians, nurses and other health care professionals • Continued growth in patients with chronic disease or multiple chronic … Read More