Healthcare Financial Management articles from February 2003

Healthcare Financial Management archives from February 2003

Negative 4.4 percent physician update scheduled to become effective March 1. (Updata).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... CMS published the physician fee schedule for 2003 in the December 31 Federal Register. The fee schedule produces an average payment update of negative 4.4 percent. Tom Scully, CMS administrator, said "Nothing would make us happier than to not...

CMS instructs fis to identify hospitals with high outlier payments. (Updata).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... In what CMS calls a "progressive compliance strategy," CMS recently issued a program memorandum (PM) directing its fiscal intermediaries (FIs) to identify hospitals that have had high outlier payments. CMS says this strategy is designed to...

CMS changes policy on payment suspension for late cost reports. (Updata).(payment suspensions for Medicare providers and suppliers that fail to file timely cost reports)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... CMS recently announced that payment suspensions for Medicare providers and suppliers that fail to file timely cost reports could either be made in part or in whole. Previously, payment suspensions were only made in whole; CMS changed the policy...

Final rule revises Medicare's inherent reasonableness adjustments. (Updata).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... CMS has published an interim final rule that will make it easier to make inherent reasonableness adjustments to payment rates to Medicare service providers. The new rule, published in the December 12, 2002, Federal Register, applies to all Part...

CMS issues new guidance on evaluation and management documentation. (Updata).(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... CMS has added significant detail to the documentation requirements for evaluation and management (E&M) services furnished by teaching physicians. Revised language in the update to the Medicare Carriers Manual makes it clear that teaching...

OIG withdraws ESRD rule change. (Updata).(United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Inspector General)(end-stage renal disease)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have permitted providers to pay Part B or Medigap premiums for financially needy patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a practice that is subject to...

CMS restricts payments for immunosuppressive drugs. (Updata).(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Effective January 1, 2003, CMS will no longer make payments for 30-day supplies of immunosuppressive drugs furnished to beneficiaries by hospital outpatient departments subject to the outpatient prospective payment system. According to CMS,...

CMS implements special add-on payments for new technologies. (Updata).(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... A September 7, 2002, final rule implementing provisions of the Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 provides that add-on payments be made for discharges involving approved new technologies, if the total covered costs of the discharge...

CMS makes billing and payment changes for critical access hospitals. (Updata).(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... CMS has published a PM describing changes regarding claims and payments for services furnished by critical access hospitals (CAHs), According to the PM, the "GF" modifier must be used for physician services rendered by nonphysicians (nurse...

Labor department selects Ergonomic advisors. (Updata).(Occupational Safety and Health Administration. National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao has announced the selection of 15 individuals from industry, academia, labor, legal, and the medical professions to form the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) National Advisory Committee on...

Certain claims for ESRD treatment not subject to SNF consolidated billing edits. (Updata).(end-stage renal disease)(skilled nursing facility)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The common working file (CWF) will not apply the skilled nursing facility (SNF) consolidated billing (CB) edits for certain diagnostic services furnished to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) beneficiaries, beginning April 1, 2003, according to a...

Home health agencies use shortened OASIS data set. (Updata).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Home health agencies may use the shortened OASIS data set OASIS B1 (12/2002), OMB 245, or OMB B1 (8/2000) without fear of enforcement action from state survey agencies, CMS announced in a December 16, 2002, press release. CMS has reduced the...

HHS to improve patient-safety data collection. (Updata).(United States. Department of Health and Human Services)(Kevric Co.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has awarded a $5.9 million contract to KEVRIC Company, Inc., of Silver Spring, Md., to improve the department's collection and reporting of patient-safety data, Secretary Tommy Thompson...

HHS proposes new rule to ensure equality for religious organizations. (Updata).(United States. Department of Health and Human Services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... HHS has issued a proposed rule that would clarify the rights and requirements of religious organizations that use HHS funds to deliver services to the needy. The goal is to help more faith- and community-based organizations decide how...

The HHS OIG has made available a Windows version of the statistical sampling software it has used since 1970 for selecting random samples and evaluating audit results. (In Brief).(United States. Department of Health and Human Services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The HHS OIG has made available a Windows version of the statistical sampling software it has used since 1970 for selecting random samples and evaluating audit results. Downloadable from the DIG web site, RAT-STATS Version 1, includes the most...

CMS has posted an online submission form for complaints about covered entities. (In Brief).(Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... CMS has posted an online submission form for complaints about covered entities that are not compliant with the HIPAA electronic transactions and code set standards. To view the form, go to...

States target health care to solve fiscal crises. (State Policy Watch).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Continuing fiscal crises are casting a giant shadow over state governors' inaugural addresses, state-of-the-state speeches, and the upcoming legislative sessions. In January a record 24 new governors and nearly 2,000 new state legislators took...

The impossible dream? (Vantage Point).(Healthcare Financial Management Association)
February 1, 2003... When addressing my the me of "Create the Future" this past summer at HFMAs Annual National Institute, I discussed the need to expand our minds, to broaden our perspectives, to think differently about the way we do business every day I recently...

Health agenda for 2003. (Viewpoint).
February 1, 2003... By the end of calendar year 2000, Americans still did not know who had been elected to serve as their president. But by the end of calendar year 2002, it was clear that President George W Bush was indeed in charge. After all, President Bush not...

Large employers expect to ask retirees to pay more for health coverage. (Industry Scan).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Most large employers plan to continue offering retirees healthcare coverage in the next three years; however, future retirees may not fare as well, according to a new survey of large companies by Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, Calif.,...

At a Glance.(Medicare)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
February 1, 2003... AT A GLANCE MEDICARE PHYSICIAN PAYMENT CONVERSION FACTORS, 1999-2003 Conversion Factor 1999 $34.73 2000 $36.61 2001 $38.26 2002 $36.19 2003 $34.59 Source: DGA Partners analysis of...

U.S. healthcare spending jumps 8.7 percent. (Industry Scan).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... National healthcare spending accelerated a decade-high 8.7 percent in 2001, increasing by $115 billion to $1.4 trillion in 2001, according to the CMS annual report Highlights--National Health Expenditures, 2001. Prescription drugs and...

Tenet adopts new outlier policy. (Industry Scan).(Tenet Healthcare Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... In early January 2003, Tenet Healthcare Corp. advised CMS that it would volunteer to adopt a new policy on Medicare outlier payments that Tenet says would reimburse its hospitals in accordance with anticipated government changes. Tenet says...

Workforce shortage undermines care quality. (Industry Scan).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Workforce shortages are threatening the financial viability of many hospitals, according to a recent VHA Inc. study entitled The Business Case for Work Force Stability, one part of a research series on healthcare workforce issues. The...

JCAHO patient safety goals in effect. (Industry Scan).(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations )
February 1, 2003... Accredited organizations must now focus attention on a series of specific actions to prevent medical mistakes, according to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). These actions will help to avoid confusion in...

Hospital employment trends up in November. (Industry Scan).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Hospital employment grew by 0.32 percent in November after seasonal adjustments, a large gain compared with last month's 0.18 percent increase, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on December 6, 2002. Overall, the nation's unemployment rate...

Consumers continue to choose Medicare HMOs. (Industry Scan).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Although Medicare HMOs have dropped more than 2.4 million senior citizens since 1 998, including 215,000 enrollees who will lose coverage at the end of this year, consumers continue to choose managed care plans to receive Medicare benefits,...

Hospitals to release data on quality of care. (Industry Scan).
February 1, 2003... A new initiative will provide the public with data on quality of care at hospitals across the country. This initiative will allow consumers to compare individual hospitals' performance based on nationally recognized indicators of quality. ...

Hospital admissions of senior citizens to rise. (Industry Scan).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... In 25 years, inpatient hospitals in the U.S. could annually admit nearly 9.8 million more senior citizens than current levels, according to a report recently released by Evanston, Ill.-based Solucient. In 2002, senior citizens constituted...

Humana to trim workforce by 17 percent. (Industry Scan).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... On December 5, Humana Inc., Louisville, Kentucky, announced that it plans to reduce its workforce by 17 percent, or 2,300 employees, effective December 31, 2003. Humana expects to consolidate its customer-service centers by eliminating four of...

Not-for-profit hospitals' Outlook stable for 2003. (Industry Scan).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Not-for-profit hospitals will maintain overall stable credit quality in 2003, marking the third straight year of relative industry stability, according to Moody's Investors Service in its upcoming annual report on the sector. However, the...

Quotes of note.
February 1, 2003... "There are clearly hospitals that manage actual high-cost cases and they should be properly reimbursed. However, we also need to be certain that other hospitals are not inappropriately gaming the system." CMS Administrator Thomas Scully,...

Real options versus DCF? (Letters to the Editor).(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2003... In their article, "Evaluating Capital Investment Opportunities: Capturing the Value of Flexibility" (HEALTHCARE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, November 2002), J. Patrick Smyth and Paul Swin and provide some interesting insights into how to assess a...

CFO exchange to examine revenue cycle, strategic planning. (HFMA News).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Effective revenue-cycle management and ways to integrate financial and strategic planning will be a main focus of the 2003 CFO Exchange, which will take place March 9-11 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco. Among other topics to be...

Regional Executive Council revises charter requirements. (HFMA News).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... HFMA's Regional Executive Council has voted to change the following Davis Chapter Management System (DCMS) charter requirements, effective May 1, 2003: * Chapters are no longer required to submit an annual report. Instead, they now will be...

Dues change approved. (HFMA News).(Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... HFMA's Board of Directors approved a $10 increase in regular membership dues, raising the cost of HFMA membership to $215 per year, effective June 2003. HFMA will continue to offer a prorated membership discount of $149 (plus the one-time...

HFMA provides Medicare outpatient PPS education. (HFMA News).(Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... CMS published a final rule on November 1, 2002, updating the outpatient prospective payment system (PPS) payment policy. This final rule projects a 3.7 percent increase over the 2002 Medicare outpatient services payment to hospitals. To...

HFMA and PCI offer HIPAA training. (HFMA News).(Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Paramore Consulting Inc.)(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... HFMA members can receive technical training on Claredi's HIPAA Testing and Certification Tools at a discounted price as a result of a partnership between HFMA and Paramore Consulting, Inc. (PCI). PCI has an exclusive training agreement with...

HFMA announces Spring 2003 Seminar Series. (HFMA News).
February 1, 2003... HFMA will offer 18 information-intensive seminars as part of its Spring 2003 Seminar Series, which is being held in four locations: San Diego, March 24-27; New Orleans, April 30-May 1; Philadelphia, May 58; and Denver, May 19-22. "HEMA's...

The doctor takes charge: healthcare prospects brighten under new senate leader. (FYI).(a discussion on the expectations of healthcare with Bill Frist taking over as Senate majority leader in the 108th Congress)
February 1, 2003... "There is this tension between two forces I am engaged in, between raw political power versus what is probably a little more deeply inside of me, the real quest, the real drive for substantive issues, of really changing things for these few...

Build quality by investing in technology: an interview with Alan L. Broude. (Executive Insights).(Interview)
February 1, 2003... Technology is a critical concern for Alan L. Broude, CPA, senior vice president and CFO of Jewish Hospital Healthcare Services (JHHS) in Louisville, Ky. Broude's technology-related responsibilities start with helping to ensure that JHHS's...

Navigating payment pitfalls in managed care. (Managed Care).
February 1, 2003... In 2002, hospitals spent more than $100 million on managed care contract information systems to determine whether payers were paying them correctly. (a) Despite these expenditures, payers still underpay hospitals, and claims denials remain at...

Establishing ROI for technology to reduce medication errors is both a science and an art. (The Business Case for Medication Safety).(return on investment)
February 1, 2003... Fact: Preventable medical errors result in 44,000 to 98,000 deaths among hospital patients each year--more than die from workplace accidents, motor-vehicle wrecks, breast cancer, and AIDS Fact: Medication errors alone cause an estimated...

One CFO's success with transitioning to an automated patient record.(the use of automated patient records can provide more efficient care and a strengthend bottom line)
February 1, 2003... An automated patient record can contribute to improved efficiency of care, enhanced staff satisfaction, and a substantially strengthened bottom line. Healthcare financial managers all too often take a myopic view of health care. By...

Structuring a sound securitization of healthcare receivables.
February 1, 2003... A properly structured securitization of healthcare receivables offers healthcare providers a funding source by converting future receivables into immediate cash National Century Financial Enterprises Inc. (NCFE), the nation's largest...

Clinical technology: are you getting your money's worth?(several factors should be considered when investing in clinical information technology)
February 1, 2003... When investing in clinical information technology providers need to consider intangible benefits and opportunity costs among other factors. Need overnight delivery? Chances are, FedEx comes to mind. Over the past 25 years, the shipping...

CMS investigates outlier payments. (Medicare/Medicaid).(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
February 1, 2003... "There are clearly hospitals that manage actual high-cost cases, and they should be properly reimbursed However we also need to be certain that other hospitals are not inappropriately gaming the system. Any hospital billing very high outlier...

Judicial review of CMS policies: an evolving doctrine. (Medicare/Medicaid).(a discussion of court rulings considering Medicare new-provider exemptions for skilled nursing facilities)
February 1, 2003... In October, two federal appellate courts rendered conflicting decisions as to Medicare new-provider exemptions for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) that acquire bed rights from other institutions. While these decisions are quite important to...

We teach "irresponsibility 101." what do you teach? (Management Issues).(health administration management)
February 1, 2003... As teachers and advisers for graduate and undergraduate students in health administration, we're always amazed at the perspective of new students, especially freshmen. Almost without exception, they express guilt at what they "got away with" in...

Taking an IT "go-live" approach to HIPAA readiness. (Digital Perspectives).
February 1, 2003... As you know, two key milestones for HIPAA compliance are fast approaching. The first is the April 14, 2003, deadline for compliance with the privacy rule. The second, which has received less attention, is the April 16, 2003, milestone for...

A mentor is a key to career success. (Career Development).(practical suggestions for healthcare professionals wanting to develop fruitful mentoring relationship)
February 1, 2003... Advice for those in the beginning stages of career development is often rather general. You're urged to get good experience, work hard, and seek opportunities. But healthcare professionals in the early stages of their careers can benefit from a...

The treasurer as Chief Liquidity Officer: an interview with Adventist Health System's Gary Skilton. (Treasury Management).(Interview)
February 1, 2003... In an article in the November 2002 issue of Financial Executive, Ellen Heffes suggests a new title for treasurers of Fortune-1000 companies: chief liquidity officer, or "CLO." (a) Although for-profit businesses such as Autodesk Inc. and J.G....

Calendar.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... CALENDAR Spring 2003 Seminars Financial Mangement/Reimbursement Level Seminar 3/24-3/27 4/30-5/1 San Diego New Orleans # Charting Your...

Gary K. Johnson. (People).(Cardinal Consulting Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Gary K. Johnson (Georgia Chapter) has been appointed principal, Cardinal Consulting, Inc., Chicago. Previously, he was senior manager, integrated health care consulting practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Atlanta.

Sheila K. Miller, FHFMA. (People).(St. Joseph's Medical Center, Hot Springs, Arkansas)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Sheila K. Miller, FHFMA (Arkansas Chapter), has been named director of patient accounts, St. Joseph's Medical Center, Hot Springs, Ark. Previously she was director of patient financial services, Abilene Regional Medical Center, Abilene, Tex.

Raymond M. Jankowski, FHFMA. (People).(Community Hospital, Long Beach, California)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Raymond M. Jankowski, FHFMA (Southern California Chapter), has been appointed president and CEO, Community Hospital, Long Beach, Calif. Formerly, he was chief operating officer, CalOptima, Orange, Calif.

David W. Davis. (People).(Kindred Hospital)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... David W. Davis (Kentucky Chapter) has been appointed CEO, Kindred Hospital, Louisville, Ky. Previously he had been controller, Witham Health Services, Lebanon, Ind.

Gina A. Kerr, CPAM. (People).(Medical Account Services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Gina A. Kerr, CPAM (New Jersey Chapter), has been named operations manager, Medical Account Services, Bloomfield, NJ. Formerly she was production manager, Keystone Financial Services, Manasquan, NJ.

Danielle Wenman-Scelfo. (People).(Aventis Oncology)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Danielle Wenman-Scelfo (San Diego-Imperial Chapter) has joined Aventis Oncology, Bridgewater, N.J., as East Coast reimbursement manager. Previously she was senior product specialist, Ortho Biotech, San Diego.

Caroline Rader. (People).(KPMG L.L.P.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Caroline Rader (Maryland Chapter) has joined KPMG, LLP, charge master practice, Baltimore, as senior associate. She had previously been compliance auditor, Anne Arundel Medical Center, Annapolis, Md.

Gary Flaming, CPA. (People).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Gary Flaming, CPA (Oregon Chapter), has been promoted from regional director of consulting and auditing services to system director of consulting and auditing services, Providence Health System, Portland, Ore.

U.S. hospital operating efficiency may be improving. (Data Trends).
February 1, 2003... Hospitals in the United States face all-too-familiar challenges in 2003: rising costs, declining payments, and increasing patient volumes--particularly among aging populations. And these trends show no signs of fading. Case in point: new data...

Legal aspects of health care administration, eighth edition. (Bookshelf).(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... By George D. Pozgar Jones and Bartlett Publishing, 2001 487 pages; $76.95 Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration is a well-written guidebook for healthcare professionals containing accurate information concerning a multitude...