Latest news with #Becker'sHospitalReview
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Banner Health names new chief supply chain officer
Ryan Koos brings more than 20 years of health care supply chain leadership Ryan Koos Phoenix, June 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After more than two decades in health care supply chain management, Ryan Koos has joined Banner Health as senior vice president and chief supply chain officer. Koos will oversee all aspects of Banner's health care supply chain, including ordering, distribution, inventory, strategy of sourcing and contracting. Koos will also collaborate with key teams to identify opportunities for innovation, automation and utilizing leading-edge technology to improve overall quality, safety and supply costs. "I'm honored to join Banner Health and excited to lead its supply chain operations at such a transformative time in health care,' said Koos. 'My mission is to ensure that our clinicians have timely access to the right products so they can focus on what matters most — delivering excellent care. I look forward to driving innovation and ensuring our teams have the tools and resources they need to deliver that exceptional care.' "Supply chain is a critical pillar of our health care delivery system,' said Staci Dickerson, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Banner Health. 'With Koos at the helm, we're positioning Banner Health to meet future demands with agility, innovation, and responsibility. We're thrilled to welcome him to Banner.' Koos has more than 22 years of leadership experience in health care supply chain management, most recently at Sharp Health Care in San Diego, Calif., where he served as its vice president and chief supply chain officer. He previously worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City as a senior sourcing specialist. In that role, Koos pioneered the the development of sourcing, contracting and its category management departments. Prior to that, Koos was a senior buyer and value analyst for all departments at Oregon Health and Science University. Koos graduated from Oregon State University with a bachelor of science in public health. He now uses his extensive experience in health care supply chain management to educate others. He is an an active advisor on national health care supply chain councils and was named a top 50 CSCOs to know by Becker's Hospital Review. Koos joined Banner Health on June 16. About Banner Health Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country and a leader in provider-sponsored health insurance serving 3.5 million people annually across six states. With 33 hospitals and more than 450 additional care sites, Banner's array of services includes a health insurance division, employed physician groups, outpatient surgery centers, urgent care locations, home care and hospice services, retail pharmacies, stand-alone imaging centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation, behavioral health services, a research division, and a nursing registry. Through its longstanding, innovative relationship with the University of Arizona, Banner's academic medicine division provides ground-breaking clinical discoveries, advanced life-saving care and educates 1,300 physicians annually. Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, a partnership with one of the world's leading cancer programs, MD Anderson Cancer Center treats more than 103,000 patients a year. Banner Plans and Networks offers Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial health coverage to more than 1.2 million members. In 2024, Banner Health provided $1 billion worth of community benefits to assist those in need through a range of programs. Headquartered in Arizona, Banner Health also has locations in California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming. For more information, visit Attachment Ryan Koos CONTACT: Banner Health 602-747-3080 BannerHealthNews@ in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Indianapolis Star
11-06-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
AGS Health(R) CEO Patrice Wolfe Named one of the Becker's Healthcare 'Top Women to Know in Health IT'
WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire AGS Health ® CEO Patrice Wolfe has been named to the Becker's Hospital Review list of 'Women in Health IT to Know' in 2025. The annual list recognizes women who are harnessing the power of health IT to help shape the future of the healthcare industry. Wolfe has been at the helm of AGS Health, a leading provider of tech-enabled revenue cycle management (RCM) solutions and a strategic growth partner to healthcare providers across the U.S., for nearly six years. During her tenure, the company has evolved into a market leader in technology-led RCM solutions, strengthening its capabilities through strategic acquisitions and the organic development of proprietary technologies. Central to Wolfe's leadership is a bold vision for a frictionless revenue cycle powered by a hybrid intelligence model that seamlessly blends human expertise with the speed, scale, and precision of artificial intelligence (AI). This model enhances human decision-making with AI's analytical power, creating a synergistic system designed to prioritize outcomes over narrowly defined metrics and point solutions. 'Healthcare leaders are seeking a more strategic approach to revenue cycle management-one that goes beyond transactional efficiency and focuses on delivering measurable financial and clinical outcomes,' said Wolfe. 'That's the philosophy behind our hybrid intelligence model. Our clients view us not merely as a vendor but as a long-term strategic partner. The success of our solutions is measured by the tangible impact we deliver, whether that's increasing cash flow, reducing denials, or improving the patient financial experience.' Under Wolfe's leadership, AGS Health has introduced a series of transformative advancements aimed at modernizing and optimizing revenue cycle operations. Key innovations include the deployment of agentic automation, autonomous medical coding solutions, and hybrid intelligence solutions for front-end financial clearance and prior authorization processes. The company has also developed proprietary workflow orchestration tools that enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and decision-making capabilities of its service teams through intelligent automation and real-time data insights. Wolfe also spearheaded the company's geographic expansion into Mexico and the Philippines, broadening customers' access to diverse, highly skilled talent pools that are uniquely suited for clinical administrative support roles. In recognition of its strong workplace culture and employee engagement, AGS Health earned Great Place to Work ® certification in India, the United States, and the Philippines. The company also achieved significant industry recognition, including being named a Leader in Everest Group's Medical Coding Operations PEAK Matrix ® Assessment and receiving four consecutive Leader and Star Performer designations in Everest Group's RCM Operations evaluations. Additional accolades under Wolfe's tenure include being named 'Most Improved Services Solution – Best in KLAS: Software & Services,' earning the KLAS Research and Censinet Cybersecurity Transparent designation, and receiving the UiPath AI25 Award along with the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) Excellence Award for Best Security Practices in an Organization. 'I am honored to be among such an elite group of women who are reshaping the healthcare industry,' says Wolfe. 'But I did not achieve this honor alone; credit extends to the exceptional AGS Health team, which shares my commitment to leveraging the latest technologies to deliver exceptional quality to our healthcare customers.' The women leaders recognized on Becker's list, curated by the editorial team from nominations submitted across the healthcare ecosystem, utilize technology to drive meaningful change by streamlining administrative processes, enhancing care delivery, standardizing workflows, and elevating overall system efficiency. In its announcement, Becker's Healthcare stated its pride in honoring trailblazing women in health IT for their unwavering commitment to improving healthcare, adding that their leadership and innovation are essential to the continued success of their organizations and the healthcare industry. The complete list of Women in Health IT to Know can be accessed here. About AGS Health AGS Health is more than a revenue cycle management company-we're a strategic partner for growth. Our distinctive methodology blends award-winning services with intelligent automation and high-touch customer support to deliver peak end-to-end revenue cycle performance and an empowering patient financial experience. We employ a team of 15,000 highly trained and college-educated RCM experts who directly support more than 150 customers spanning a variety of care settings and specialties, including nearly 50% of the 20 most prominent U.S. hospitals and 40% of the nation's 10 largest health systems. Our thoughtfully crafted RCM solutions deliver measurable revenue growth and retention, enabling customers to achieve the revenue to realize their vision. # # # Media Contact: Liz Goar NPC Creative Services liz@ SOURCE: AGS Health View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
James E. Van Zandt VA earns five-star rating for nighttime quietness
ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — At the James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center, the only thing louder than their commitment to care is the national recognition for staying quiet. The Altoona-based facility was awarded a five-star quietness rating from Becker's Hospital Review, based on patient feedback from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. The survey, conducted nationally between July 2023 and June 2024, asked patients about their experience during overnight hospital stays, including how quiet their rooms were at night. The VA's consistent top-tier responses placed it among the best in the country for providing a restful environment. The recognition highlights not just the facility's efforts in maintaining peace and comfort for patients but also its broader focus on the overall hospital experience for veterans. Leadership at the center thanked veterans, caregivers and staff for making the achievement possible and emphasized the honor of being recognized on a national scale. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Breakups between health systems and Medicare Advantage plans have increased. Sometimes, patients get to leave plans, too
For several years, Fred Neary had been seeing five doctors at the Baylor Scott & White Health system, whose 52 hospitals serve central and northern Texas, including Neary's home in Dallas. But in October, his Humana Medicare Advantage plan—an alternative to government-run Medicare—warned that Baylor and the insurer were fighting over a new contract. If they couldn't reach an agreement, he'd have to find new doctors or new health insurance. 'All my medical information is with Baylor Scott & White,' said Neary, 87, who retired from a career in financial services. His doctors are a five-minute drive from his house. 'After so many years, starting over with that many new doctor relationships didn't feel like an option.' After several anxious weeks, Neary learned Humana and Baylor were parting ways as of this year, and he was forced to choose between the two. Because the breakup happened during the annual fall enrollment period for Medicare Advantage, he was able to pick a new Advantage plan with coverage starting Jan. 1, a day after his Humana plan ended. Other Advantage members who lose providers are not as lucky. Although disputes between health systems and insurers happen all the time, members are usually locked into their plans for the year and restricted to a network of providers, even if that network shrinks. Unless members qualify for what's called a special enrollment period, switching plans or returning to traditional Medicare is allowed only at year's end, with new coverage starting in January. But in the past 15 months, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees the Medicare Advantage program, has quietly offered roughly three-month special enrollment periods allowing thousands of Advantage members in at least 13 states to change plans. They were also allowed to leave Advantage plans entirely and choose traditional Medicare coverage without penalty, regardless of when they lost their providers. But even when CMS lets Advantage members leave a plan that lost a key provider, insurers can still enroll new members without telling them the network has shrunk. At least 41 hospital systems have dropped out of 62 Advantage plans serving all or parts of 25 states since July, according to Becker's Hospital Review. Over the past two years, separations between Advantage plans and health systems have tripled, said FTI Consulting, which tracks reports of the disputes. CMS spokesperson Catherine Howden said it is 'a routine occurrence' for the agency to determine that provider network changes trigger a special enrollment period for their members. 'It has happened many times in the past, though we have seen an uptick in recent years.' Still, CMS would not identify plans whose members were allowed to disenroll after losing health providers. The agency also would not say whether the plans violated federal provider network rules intended to ensure that Medicare Advantage members have sufficient providers within certain distances and travel times. The secrecy around when and how Advantage members can escape plans after their doctors and hospitals drop out worries Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the senior Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees CMS. 'Seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans deserve to know they can change their plan when their local doctor or hospital exits the plan due to profit-driven business practices,' Wyden said. The increase in insurer-provider breakups isn't surprising, given the growing popularity of Medicare Advantage. The plans attracted about 54% of the 61.2 million people who had both Medicare Parts A and B and were eligible to sign up for Medicare Advantage in 2024, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. The plans can offer supplemental benefits unavailable from traditional Medicare because the federal government pays insurers about 20% more per member than traditional Medicare per-member costs, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which advises Congress. The extra spending, which some lawmakers call wasteful, will total about $84 billion in 2025, MedPAC estimates. While traditional Medicare does not offer the additional benefits Advantage plans advertise, it does not limit beneficiaries' choice of providers. They can go to any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare, as nearly all do. Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the U.S., serving parts of seven states from South Dakota to Michigan, decided to leave a Humana Medicare Advantage plan last year that covered 15,000 of its patients. 'It's not so much about the finances or administrative burden, although those are real concerns,' said Nick Olson, Sanford Health's chief financial officer. 'The most important thing for us is the fact that coverage denials and prior authorization delays impact the care a patient receives, and that's unacceptable.' The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, representing insurance regulators from every state, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, has appealed to CMS to help Advantage members. 'State regulators in several states are seeing hospitals and crucial provider groups making decisions to no longer contract with any MA plans, which can leave enrollees without ready access to care,' the group wrote in September. 'Lack of CMS guidance could result in unnecessary financial or medical injury to America's seniors.' The commissioners appealed again last month to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 'Significant network changes trigger important rights for beneficiaries, and they should receive clear notice of their rights and have access to counseling to help them make appropriate choices,' they wrote. The insurance commissioners asked CMS to consider offering a special enrollment period for all Advantage members who lose the same major provider, instead of placing the burden on individuals to find help on their own. No matter what time of year, members would be able to change plans or enroll in government-run Medicare. Advantage members granted this special enrollment period who choose traditional Medicare get a bonus: If they want to purchase a Medigap policy—supplemental insurance that helps cover Medicare's considerable out-of-pocket costs—insurers can't turn them away or charge them more because of preexisting health conditions. Those potential extra costs have long been a deterrent for people who want to leave Medicare Advantage for traditional Medicare. 'People are being trapped in Medicare Advantage because they can't get a Medigap plan,' said Bonnie Burns, a training and policy specialist at California Health Advocates, a nonprofit watchdog that helps seniors navigate Medicare. Guaranteed access to Medigap coverage is especially important when providers drop out of all Advantage plans. Only four states—Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and New York—offer that guarantee to anyone who wants to reenroll in Medicare. But some hospital systems, including Great Plains Health in North Platte, Nebraska, are so frustrated by Advantage plans that they won't participate in any of them. It had the same problems with delays and denials of coverage as other providers, but one incident stands out for CEO Ivan Mitchell: A patient too sick to go home had to stay in the hospital an extra six weeks because her plan wouldn't cover care in a rehabilitation facility. With traditional Medicare the only option this year for Great Plains Health patients, Nebraska insurance commissioner Eric Dunning asked for a special enrollment period with guaranteed Medigap access for some 1,200 beneficiaries. After six months, CMS agreed. Once Delaware's insurance commissioner contacted CMS about the Bayhealth medical system dropping out of a Cigna Advantage plan, members received a special enrollment period starting in January. Maine's congressional delegation pushed for an enrollment period for nearly 4,000 patients of Northern Light Health after the 10-hospital system dropped out of a Humana Advantage plan last year. 'Our constituents have told us that they are anticipating serious challenges, ranging from worries about substantial changes to cost-sharing rates to concerns about maintaining care with current providers,' the delegation told CMS. CMS granted the request to ensure 'that MA enrollees have access to medically necessary care,' then-CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure wrote to Sen. Angus King (I-Maine). Minnesota insurance officials appealed to CMS on behalf of some 75,000 members of Aetna, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare Advantage plans after six health systems announced last year they would leave the plans in 2025. So many provider changes caused "tremendous problems,' said Kelli Jo Greiner, director of the Minnesota State Health Insurance Assistance Program, known as a SHIP, at the Minnesota Board on Aging. SHIP counselors across the country provide Medicare beneficiaries free help choosing and using Medicare drug and Advantage plans. Providers serving about 15,000 of Minnesota's Advantage members ultimately agreed to stay in the insurers' networks. CMS decided 14,000 Humana members qualified for a network-change special enrollment period. The remaining 46,000 people—Aetna and UnitedHealthcare Advantage members—who lost access to four health systems were not eligible for the special enrollment period. CMS decided their plans still had enough other providers to care for them. This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
LaVale MedExpress gives patients one-day notice of closing
Jan. 31—LAVALE — An email to MedExpress patients Thursday indicated the LaVale location at 1219 National Highway will shut down Friday. "MedExpress had made the difficult decision to close this center and our last day of caring for patients at this location will be January 31, 2025," it stated. "We have greatly valued the privilege of providing health care to you and your family. It has truly been an honor to serve patients in the LaVale community." The email, sent by MedExpress Vice President of Operations Nate Comstock, directed patients who need to access medical records to call 304-985-3636 or visit In a nearly identical email Thursday, a Benton, Arkansas, MedExpress Urgent Care Clinic also gave patients 24-hour notice of its closing, a news website in that town reported. The MedExpress website Thursday stated the clinic addresses urgent care needs including allergies and X-rays. "We're here to provide the knowledge and care you deserve," it stated. "Trust us to be your reliable partner in keeping your loved ones healthy and well." Earlier this week, the LaVale office referred questions from the Cumberland Times-News about the facility's potential closure to the MedExpress home office in Morgantown, West Virginia. Calls made to that location were received by an automated system and went unanswered. The newspaper Tuesday emailed the MedExpress administrative public relations staff, which did not respond as of Thursday evening. In July, the Delaware Business Times reported "MedExpress has been closing or consolidating locations and had eliminated all registered nurse positions at all 145 sites across the country." According to Becker's Hospital Review, UnitedHealth Group's Optum purchased MedExpress in 2015 for $1.5 billion. Teresa McMinn is a reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. She can be reached at 304-639-2371 or tmcminn@
