Austin Littrell

Medical Economics spoke with health care attorney Tatiana Melnik, J.D., about vendor contracts, patient consent and the malpractice questions physicians could face next.

From a same-day payment cut to AI-run prior authorization in traditional Medicare, MGMA's government affairs team laid out what Washington has in store for physicians next year.

An artificial intelligence vendor that keeps patient data after a contract ends can leave the practice holding the liability once the vendor's damages cap runs to zero, according to health care attorney Tatiana Melnik, J.D.

The American Medical Association and five specialty societies say casting AI as smarter than physicians diminishes their expertise, a day after the health secretary praised AI second opinions.

D2 Solutions President and CEO Dean Erhardt says most prior authorization rejections stem from administrative errors rather than clinical criteria, and that many patients caught in the delay don't know who to call.

The top news stories in medicine today.

Jon Dorenbos' NFL career ended when a team physical found an aortic aneurysm, and the care team that got him back on his feet shapes what he now tells physicians who feel stuck.

MGMA members described capping Medicare Advantage contracts and favoring commercial patients, while one Texas practice leader reluctantly called Medicare her best payer.

At an MGMA Government Affairs town hall, attendees raised extrapolated audits, employer plans beyond state reach and denials with no reason codes.

The Grammy-nominated songwriter traced his path from Belfast during the Troubles to the front of INXS, then walked practice leaders through what he says the best bands do differently.

A fallback version would make insurers prove upcoding, notify physicians and limit downcoding to 90 days.

Acting chief executive Akash Madiah credited practice leaders for outcomes patients never see, and the session's emcee offered a patient's account of two years of doctor visits.

MGMA's government affairs staff walked through the fee schedule, value-based care, prior authorization, Medicaid and the year-end fight in Congress.

Panelists at the Sept. 17 briefing said billing codes for two-way shipping and payment for patient navigators are still missing, with most insurers required to cover self-collected HPV tests starting Jan. 1, 2027.

Sage Growth Partners CEO Dan D'Orazio says fee-for-service revenue still outweighs the penalties meant to move hospitals and physicians off it, and he expects value-based care to make incremental gains at best.

BackPocket Talent co-founder Rachel Brace says replacing an employee can cost 16% to 20% of that worker's salary, often more than a well-timed retention bonus.

Rachel Brace and Nicole Hart of BackPocket Talent say private practices lose strong staff when employees can't see where their jobs lead.

The top news stories in medicine this week.

Buzz Health President Joseph Kleiman says the prescriptions patients abandon due to cost rarely appear in a physician's workflow, and he attributes this to disconnected systems.

The top news stories in medicine today.

A third of Americans doubt they'll have enough money to retire, and more than a third are counting on family to help, according to a new WalletHub survey.

The top news stories in medicine today.

Median work RVUs rose no more than 2.8% in any group, while nearly 65% of surveyed organizations plan to add physicians in the coming year.

The top news stories in medicine today.

Wendy S. Harpham, M.D., FACP, draws on decades as a patient with lymphoma to show physicians which phrases comfort patients and which cause distress without meaning to.

Anders Gilberg of MGMA explains the same-day payment proposal sitting in Medicare's 2027 fee schedule, and why practices won't know its fate until the final rule lands around Nov. 1.

The top news stories in medicine this week.

New Pew Research Center data on screen time, sleep and how rarely cutting back actually sticks.

MGMA’s 100th-anniversary conference runs Sept. 27-30 in San Antonio, and these 10 sessions put physician contracts, compensation and legal exposure on the table.

A new Physicians Foundation survey finds 36% of physicians say they or a colleague feared seeking mental health care because of questions on licensing, credentialing or insurance applications.