MHA Monday Report Nov. 11, 2024

Hearings Held on State Legislation Impacting Hospitals

Several bills impacting hospitals were discussed in state committee hearings during the week of Nov. 4. The Michigan House Health Policy Behavioral Health subcommittee advanced several pieces of legislation to the full Health Policy Committee …


2024 General Election: What’s Ahead in Michigan

Below is a summary of the projected results for Michigan’s top races that will influence healthcare following the 2024 General Election. Official state and local outcomes will be available in the coming days on the …


CMS Releases Medicare 2025 Outpatient Prospective Payment System Final Rule

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a final rule to update the Medicare fee-for-service outpatient prospective payment system effective Jan. 1,  2025. The final rule: Provides a net 2% increase …


endorsed business partnerLongtime Associate Member Alliance-HNI Becomes an Endorsed Business Partner

The MHA recently endorsed Alliance-HNI, a longtime MHA associate member, as an Endorsed Business Partner. Alliance-HNI delivers a full continuum of services, including mobile, fixed-site, comprehensive service line management and joint venture partnerships. …


2025 Medicare Fee-for-Service Home Health Final Rule Released

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a final rule for the home health prospective payment system  for calendar year 2025. The rule includes updates to the Medicare fee-for-service …


Webinar Focuses on Strengthening Healthcare Worker Well-being

The MHA Health Foundation will host the webinar Implementing Evidence-Informed Strategies to Normalize Help-Seeking and Strengthen Wellbeing from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Dec 4 to offer strategies for supporting the mental well-being of healthcare professionals. The webinar offers …


Keckley Report

In Healthcare, Near-Sightedness is “Normalcy”

““Normalcy” in our political system means willful acceptance that our society is hopelessly divided by income, education, ethnic and political views. It’s benign acceptance of a 2-party system, 3-branches of government (Executive, Legislative, Judicial) and federalism that imposes limits on federal power vis a vis the Constitution. …

A process for defining of the future of the U.S. health system and a bipartisan commitment by hospitals, physicians, drug companies, insurers and employers to its implementation are needed–that’s the point. Near-sightedness in our political system and in our health, system is harmful to the greater good of our society and to the voters, citizens, patients, and beneficiaries all pledge to serve.

As respected healthcare marketer David Jarrard wrote in his blog post yesterday “As the aggravated disunity of this political season rises and falls, healthcare can be a unique convener that embraces people across the political divides, real or imagined. Invite good-minded people to the common ground of healthcare to work together for the common good that healthcare must be.”

Thinking and planning for healthcare’s long-term future is not a luxury: it’s an urgent necessity. It’s also not “normal” in our political and healthcare systems.”

Paul Keckley, Nov. 4, 2024


 

News to Know

MHA offices will be closed and no formal meetings will be scheduled Nov. 11 in honor of Veterans Day.

Longtime Associate Member Alliance-HNI Becomes an Endorsed Business Partner

The MHA recently endorsed Alliance-HNI, a longtime MHA associate member, as an Endorsed Business Partner (EBP). Alliance-HNI delivers a full continuum of services, including mobile, fixed-site, comprehensive service line management and joint venture partnerships. The MHA’s EBP program promotes industry-leading firms and connects member hospitals to solutions that alleviate pain points.

Alliance-HNI is a leading provider of outsourced medical services, including radiology and oncology. They are the only Joint Commission-accredited mobile radiology company operating in Michigan and their staff for all modalities is a fully credentialed technical team. Alliance-HNI provides the following exclusive solutions to the market, unavailable through any other provider:

  • Relocatable Linear Particle Accelerator (LINAC): Hospitals can maintain uninterrupted, high-quality care, referrals and revenue while replacing permanent LINAC technologies or vaults.
  • Akumin AXIS Expandable Patient Solutions: This new of its kind transportable imaging suite avoids high construction costs and long implementation timelines with a set-up time of less than one week. It will include either MRI or PET/CT imaging equipment and is specially designed with the patient’s experience in mind. It feels more like brick-and-mortar than other mobile units and obtains the benefits of a fixed asset without the large capital investment.

Alliance-HNI Success Story

Alliance-HNI currently provides quality clinical services for more than 60 hospitals and healthcare partners in Michigan, including providing services to Eaton Rapids Medical Center.

“Over the years, Eaton Rapids Medical Center’s (ERMC) partnership has grown stronger with Alliance-HNI because of their commitment to our success,” said Tim Johnson, CEO of Eaton Rapids Medical Center. “Being integrated into multiple Alliance-HNI-owned CON networks has been incredibly beneficial. It has allowed ERMC to offer supplementary imaging coverage during system downtimes and manage our backlogs effectively.”  

For more information about Alliance-HNI, members may contact Ryan Mysen, territory director of business development at Alliance-HNI, via email or (810) 241-1214. Members seeking information about the MHA’s EBP program may contact Rob Wood at the MHA.