Uber Launches Ride Service Tailored to Health Care Providers

UberHealth hits the market, enabling health care providers to hail on-demand and scheduled rides for patients. Uber is hoping to help reduce missed appointments and the trickledown effect they have on healthcare spending. Read more

Burnout Among Hospitalists

Study reveals that burnout rates among hospitalists compared with those of general internists who practice in outpatient settings do not differ greatly; however, the groups do differ in the top symptoms they experience. 

'Repeal and replace' isn't dead yet: Trump meets with key senators on new proposal

Trump urged Senate Republicans not to give up on trying to repeal the ACA and is exploring Lindsey Graham’s (S.C.) reform proposal as a potential option. Read more

Medicare’s Financial Outlook Slightly Improved, Trustees Say

The financial outlook for Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund improved in the past year due to health costs rising more slowly than expected and predictions that enrollees will use hospital services less often. Read more

One In Three Beneficiaries Now In Medicare Advantage Program

Medicare Advantage hit a milestone this year, with 19 million beneficiaries enrolled in an MA plan. Enrollment has increased 71% since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. Read More   

The March Of Rising Healthcare Costs Has Slowed, But It's Still Unsustainable

While the era of double-digit growth in healthcare costs seems to have ended, the "new normal" pace of around 6% to 7% a year is still unsustainable, according to a new study. Read More   

Nursing Homes Starting to Offer More Individualized Menus

On a recent Thursday, the staff at Sunny Vista Living Center in Colorado Springs bustled in the kitchen. Read more.  

AHRQ Reports Continued Gains in Health Care Quality

Health care quality is improving overall, especially in hospitals, and more people have health care coverage and a usual source of medical care since the Affordable Care Act took effect, according to a new report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Read more.  

AHA Issues Guide for Improving the Patient Experience through the Physical Environment

One way for hospitals to improve patient satisfaction is to focus on their physical environment, according to a new guide by the AHA's Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence initiative and American Society for Healthcare Engineering. Read More    

Hospitals Eye Community Health Workers to Cultivate Patients' Successes

Donnie Missouri, 58, doesn't have medical training. He started his health career in the linens department in Johns Hopkins Hospital. Read More

Healthcare Expected to Drive Big M&A Activity Again in 2016

Healthcare providers and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are expected to produce the most merger and acquisitions activity this year behind only the technology sector, according to a new survey by accounting and consulting giant KPMG. Read More   

Twenty Years in, the Hospitalist Landscape is Shifting-and Prompting New Debates

The drive for efficiency in health care has led to a boom in hospitalists-and growing pains for the profession as hospitals seek to increase efficiency and demonstrate high quality outcomes, reports the New York Times. Read More  

The White House Conference on Aging (WHCOA) is held only once every ten years. This year, it happens to fall during the 50^th anniversary year of Medicare, Medicaid and the Older Americans Act, as well as the 80^th anniversary of Social Security.  The conference provides an opportunity to recognize the importance of these key programs, in addition to providing foresight into new and evolving issues that will shape the landscape for the growing population of older American’s over the next ten years.  

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee recently established a dedicated Chronic Care Work Group in order to develop legislative solutions to improve care for Medicare beneficiaries living with chronic conditions. In order to guide and inform their efforts, the Committee reached out to stakeholders in order to seek recommendations, examples of real world experience and thoughtful discourse in order to help improve care for this vulnerable patient population. Kindred responded to the opportunity and submitted a response to the Chronic Care Work Group.