Healthcare Financial Management articles from February 2009

Healthcare Financial Management archives from February 2009

Potential legislation establishing charity care minimum considered.(Charity Care)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) is reportedly considering legislation that would establish minimum charity care requirements for tax-exempt hospitals and set limits on executive compensation. Aides to Grassley told The Wall Street Journal...

States heighten focus on healthcare IT.(State Watch)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Healthcare IT is becoming a popular topic in state legislatures, according to a new report by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Between January 2007 and August 2008, 132 bills with healthcare IT content were enacted in 44...

Let's get digital.(NEWS WATCH)
February 1, 2009... LET'S GET DIGITAL: 38.4% of physicians report using full or partial electronic medical records, according to a survey by the National Center lot Health Statistics.

Healthcare reform may exacerbate PCP shortages.(NEWS WATCH)(primary care physicians)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... States are facing increasing shortages of primary care physicians (PCPs), and the situation may be exacerbated if healthcare reform expands cover age to the uninsured. Physicians' groups in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Connecticut are all...

The Congressional Budget Office released two reports in December intended to inform Congress's consideration of proposals for national healthcare reform.(CBO)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... The Congressional Budget Office released two reports in December intended to inform Congress's consideration of proposals for national healthcare reform. The first report presents 115 options for reducing (or, in some cases, increasing) federal...

Recent CMS transmittals of note include Transmittal 1657: January 2009 Update of the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (Dec. 31, 2009).(CMS)
February 1, 2009... Recent CMS transmittals of note include Transmittal 1657: January 2009 Update of the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (Dec. 31, 2009); Transmittal 418: Moratorium on Classification of Long-Term Care Hospitals (LTCH) or...

CMS published a final rule in the Dec. 19 Federal Register regarding disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments.(Federal Register)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... CMS published a final rule in the Dec. 19 Federal Register regarding disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments. The final rule, which defines reporting and auditing requirements for state DSH payments, responds to comments on a proposed...

Over 1 billion served.(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... OVER 1 BILLION SERVED: There were over 1,1 billion ambulatory care visits to physicians' offices and hospital outpatient and emergency departments in 2006, according to the Census Bureau's 2009 Statistical Abstract.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule in the Dec. 19 Federal Register affirming the right of federally funded healthcare providers to decline to participate in services to which they object, such as abortion.(Federal Register)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule in the Dec. 19 Federal Register affirming the right of federally funded healthcare providers to decline to participate in services to which they object, such as abortion....

HHS has announced an action plan to establish five-year prevention targets to reduce or eliminate healthcare-associated infections, which are infections that patients acquire while undergoing medical treatment or surgical procedures.(HHS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... HHS has announced an action plan to establish five-year prevention targets to reduce or eliminate healthcare-associated infections, which are infections that patients acquire while undergoing medical treatment or surgical procedures. The plan...

Tipping point.(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... TIPPING POINT: There is a sizable increase in problems paying medical bills when out-of-pocket healthcare spending exceeds 2.5% of family income, according to the Center for Studying Health System Change.

HFMA survey describes impact of economic downturn on providers.(Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... HFMA has released a new report titled Financial Health of U.S. Hospitals and Healthcare Systems. The report, based on a survey of more than 300 respondents nationwide, finds that financial market turmoil and economic difficulties are affecting...

Escalating not-for-profit hospital downgrades reported.(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Moody's Investors Service says that an escalation in not-for-profit hospital rating downgrades in the fourth quarter of 2008 points to the negative effects of a rapidly weakening economy, restricted access to capital, investment losses, and the...

Growth in national health spending lowest since 1998.(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports that health spending in the United States grew 6.1 percent in 2007, to $7,421 per person. This was the slowest rate of growth since 1998 and o.6 percent lower than the 6.7 percent growth in...

Pension relief may not solve funding problems.(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Based on a study of 24 not-for-profit hospitals and health systems, Standard & Poor's anticipates overall funding of pension plans to fall in 2009 as weak investment markets lower the value of plan assets. Despite emergency pension relief...

Daschle takes on additional healthcare role.(Tom Daschle joins Health & Human Services)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... In addition to his service as President Obama's Secretary of Health & Human Services, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) will serve as director of a new White House Office on Health Care Reform. Jeanne Lambrew, who co-authored a book on...

U.S. spends $650 billion more than expected on health care.(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... A new report by the McKinsey Global Institute finds that $650 billion of a total $2.1 trillion in U.S. healthcare spending is above what would be expected in comparison with 13 peer countries, even when adjusted for wealth.

New web site compares hospitals nationwide.(WhyNotTheBest.org)
February 1, 2009... A new web site, WhyNotTheBest.org, allows healthcare providers to conduct side-by-side comparisons of 4,500 hospitals nationwide, track performance against benchmarks, and download tools to improve healthcare quality.

The doll maker: Martha Calfee has a passion for the art of making porcelain dolls.
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] More than 100 dolls fill Martha Calfee's home, many of them porcelain dolls that she has created herself. Calfee, senior audit manager for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee's Medicare operation and a member of...

Provider hires former game show host to help recruit nurses.(Strange, but True)
February 1, 2009... Can a fancy gala emceed by the former host of "Wheel of Fortune" and "Love Connection" and featuring a red-carpet entrance draw nursing hires to a home healthcare provider? One Michigan home healthcare company bet "yes" last fall when it...

Overheard.
February 1, 2009... "The runaway cost of health care is punishing families and businesses across our country. We are on an unsustainable course, and it has to change. The time has come-this year, in this new administration-to modernize our healthcare system for...

Critical: what we can do about the health-care crisis.
February 1, 2009... Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis Sen. Torn Daschle with Scott S. Greenberger and Jeanne M. Lambrew St. Martin's Press New York: 2008 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the movie Patton, George C. Scott is overlooking a...

Health reform in the new Congress: what's possible, what's practical, and what's probable?
February 1, 2009... Health care is a top priority for both the Obama administration and the Democratic leadership in Congress. As such, healthcare issues will assume a new level of prominence, and reforms have a better chance of moving forward than perhaps ever...

Connecting with our communities: hospitals are a focal point of our communities.
February 1, 2009... Our children are born in our local hospitals, and as they grow up, most will make more than one unscheduled trip with their parents to the emergency department. We look to our hospitals to nurse friends and family back to health when they fall...

A new year, a new administration, and old, familiar challenges for health care: it is hard to imagine an administration where the expectations have been higher and the challenges greater than those before the Obama administration.
February 1, 2009... Although 2008 ended with a modest gain for Wall Street, the year overall was a financial disaster. Holders of stock lost $6.9 trillion over the course of the year, major firms that have been mainstays to American business like Lehman Brothers,...

Gore headlines keynote speakers for ANI 2009.(Conference news)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... The Honorable Al Gore, 45th vice president of the United States and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner, will present "Thinking Green: Economic Strategy for the 21st Century" at ANI: The Healthcare Conference, to be held June 14-17, 2009, in Seattle....

HFMA offers credentialing program for revenue cycle professionals.(healthcare financial management association)
February 1, 2009... HFMA recently launched its Credentialed Revenue Cycle Representative (CRCR) program, designed to help healthcare organizations advance the proficiency of their revenue cycle staffs. Originating from providers' requests for a career...

7 steps to a holistic preservice collection strategy.(REVENUE CYCLE)
February 1, 2009... Preservice collection of estimated bills holds an important place in the hospital revenue cycle, especially as the number of uninsured and underinsured patients grows. Self-pay revenues doubled as a percentage of hospital volume from 2000 to...

The coming storm: Medicare wage index overhaul signals changes for hospitals.(MEDICARE/MEDICAID)
February 1, 2009... In recent years, no aspect of Medicare's hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) has become more controversial, more manipulated, or more reviled by hospitals, Medicare officials, and lawmakers than the wage index. Originally...

Janet Corrigan, PhD: transforming health care in a time of crisis.(Q&A)(dialogue with Janet Corrigan)(Interview)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The economic downturn, coupled with health care's already precarious economic state, is poised to change the way care is delivered and financed in this country. In this environment, improving health care requires...

Community benefit strategies for a changing economy: in today's economic climate, meeting the healthcare needs of vulnerable populations through community benefit programs is becoming more important than ever. Three health systems discuss unique programs that are helping those at risk.
February 1, 2009... Changes in the economy will affect the types of community benefit programs most needed by populations at risk, such as those who are chronically ill and the working poor, one community benefit expert says. "We are seeing an increasing...

The IRS's version of community benefit: a look at the redesigned Form 990 and new schedule H.(FEATURE STORY)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For many hospitals, 2009 will be the first year of reporting the charity care and community benefits they provide on the new Schedule H of the IRS's significantly redesigned Form 990 (Return of Organization Exempt...

Strategies for accurate community benefit reporting: as tax-exempt hospitals prepare to complete Schedule H of the revised IBS Form 990, there are seven actions they should take to ensure they receive full credit for the community benefit they provide.(FEATURE STORY)
February 1, 2009... Schedule H of the new Ills Form 990 requires detailed reporting of the community benefit hospitals provide. There are several strategic approaches hospitals can take in completing Schedule H to ensure they receive full credit for the community...

Managing uncertainty to succeed in the new health economy: healthcare financial leaders need to be both flexible and creative to manage during times of uncertainty.(FEATURE STORY)
February 1, 2009... Two equivalent forces--internal and external--are expected to generate both challenges and opportunities for the health sciences industry in 2009. From an internal perspective, escalating healthcare costs will continue to be problematic for...

Change that's truly different a productive approach to reform: prospects for reform might seem to be rising with the tide of political change, but a morass of problems lies just below the surface and compels new thinking.(COMMENTARY)
February 1, 2009... At the beginning of 2009 and for the foreseeable future, the United States does not have available resources to fulfill the laudable dreams of health reformers. Major change is absolutely necessary and even possible, but the prevailing...

A checklist for managing tax-exemption and related disputes.(HFMA FORUMS TOOLBOX)
February 1, 2009... Charity care and other charitable community benefits provided by the nation's not-for-profit and tax-exempt hospitals remain the subject of increasing scrutiny and criticism at both the state and federal levels. State and local tax authorities,...

Measure and report what matters and it will make a difference: over the past nine months, I've read headline after headline on the front pages of major newspapers questioning the performance, pricing policies, and even the purpose of not-for-profit healthcare organizations.(LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT)
February 1, 2009... The articles take issue with levels of charity care and community benefit, executive compensation, billing and collection practices, the size of investment portfolios, and the operating efficiencies of complex healthcare organizations....

Is a patient portal on your IT list? If your organization is providing patients with access to health information and enabling them to perform various health-related tasks online--not just offering educational content or the ability to pay a bill--you are ahead of many of your peers.(INSIDE IT)
February 1, 2009... Various studies of IT adoption in hospitals have shown that these levels of online service are almost nonexistent in most hospitals, and not high on IT strategic priority lists. This may be not only a marketing mistake, but also an error in...

Calendar.(Calendar)
February 1, 2009... NATIONAL EVENTS june 14-7 In the current economic environment, decisions. HFMA's 2009 And with never-before-seen challenges, healthcare finance leaders need innovative ...

Decline of hospital margins may impair hospitals' ability to obtain capital.(DATA TRENDS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Hospitals maintained their usual operating margins through the third quarter of CYo8. Patient margins, indicating how well hospitals would meet operating expenses from net patient revenues alone, have also survived the crisis. However, hospital...

High hopes.(FROM THE PRESIDENT)
February 1, 2009... "Only in America is my story possible." This quote from then-candidate Barack Obama resonated with me as I watched him become the 44th president of the United States on January 20. Millions of other Americans watched his swearing-in...

Optimizing hospital supply chain processes for savings.(hfma roundtable)(Company overview)
February 1, 2009... There's no denying that stocking hospital pharmaceuticals and supplies can be expensive and tie up a lot of capital. Not to mention the costs associated with ensuring appropriate availability and timely delivery for users. Yet bringing...