Healthcare Financial Management articles from March 2002

Healthcare Financial Management archives from March 2002

SEC, FASB consider changes to disclosure requirements. (Updata).(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Although America's disclosure and financial reporting system remains the world's best, elements of that system have long needed improvement, according to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Harvey Pitt. In a statement released...

2001 medical care price index shows largest increase since 1994. (Updata).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The medical care price index rose 4.7 percent in 2001, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on January 16, 2002. The increase, which was the largest since 1994, reflects substantial rises in the indexes for prescription drugs (up...

Lawmakers target nursing shortage. (Updata).(Nurses Reinvestment Act)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The prospects for alleviating the nation's increasingly acute shortage of nurses have improved somewhat with approval of the Nurses Reinvestment Act. Versions of the bill have sailed through both chambers of Congress with broad, bipartisan...

IRS issues final rule on excess-benefit transactions. (Updata).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The IRS has issued a final rule defining the intermediate sanctions that may be imposed on leaders of tax-exempt organizations who make excess benefit transactions. This rule imposes excise taxes on transactions that provide excess economic...

HHS outlines FY03 budget proposal. (Updata).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... HHS has released summaries of its portions of the 2003 Federal budget proposal President Bush delivered to Congress during the first week of February. Highlighted are provisions to boost funding to programs that provide health care and...

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule in the January 25, 2002, Federal Register that would expand the definition of a Medicare overpayment and establish a time frame and process for reporting and...

The National Committee for quality assurance (NCQA).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is the first organization to be granted "deeming" authority for the Medicare+Choice program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in the January 25, 2002, Federal...

Who's counting ROI? (Vantage Point).(return on investment)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
March 1, 2002... Flying home from this year's HIMSS conference, I reflected on a panel discussion, "Who Is Counting?: CIOs and CFOs Tackle IT ROI," in which I participated. Clearly the healthcare industry is laboring over the dilemma caused by a lack of...

Taking the lead in regulatory reform efforts. (Viewpoint).(Medicare)
March 1, 2002... The Medicare program is governed by 125,000 pages of regulations--more than regulate the entire IRS tax system. Understanding such vast and complex regulations is an enormous challenge, creating confusion and frustration, as well as added...

Hospital mergers, acquisitions rise 33 percent in fourth quarter of 2001. (In the News).(Irving Levin Associates' report)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2002... There were 184 announced mergers and acquisitions in the fourth quarter of 2001, valued at $27.4 billion, compared with 182 such deals, valued at $7.9 billion, in the third quarter of 2001, according to Irving Levin Associates, New Canaan,...

Stable outlook projected for for-profit hospitals. (In the News).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Moody's Investors Services, New York, New York, forecasts an overall stable credit rating for investor-owned hospitals in 2002. In its annual industry outlook for the sector, Moody's expects credit-stabilizing trends, such as a supportive...

www.coveringtheuninsured.org. (Web Sights).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Visitors to this site will find information on a new public education campaign designed to advocate Federal programs for the uninsured.

www.urban.org/health/HPOnline.htm. (Web Sights).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Visitors to this Urban Institute site will find reports that analyze economic proposals related to the uninsured.

www..state.ma.us/healthcare. (Web Sights).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Visitors to this site will find the Massachusetts Health Care Task Force final report on the state's healthcare system.

www.cpsi.ahrq.gov. (Web Sights).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Visitors to this Council on Private Sector Initiatives to Improve the Security, Safety, and Quality of Health Care site will find a forum through which to present innovative healthcare ideas and products to the Federal government.

HMO profits rise 16 percent in 2001. (In the News).(Weiss Ratings' report)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The nation's HMOs earned $503 million during the first half of 2001, up 16 percent from the $434 million earned during the first half of 2000, according to Weiss Ratings, Inc., Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. In addition to raising premiums to...

Supreme Court hears HMO medical review case. (In the News).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a patients' rights case on January 16 that could determine whether states may provide for an independent medical review when a patient's primary care physician and an HMO disagree over whether a course...

Quorum settles fraud suite. (In the News).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Quorum Health Group's successor company, Triad Hospitals of Dallas, and Quorum's subsidiary, Gadsden Regional Medical Center, Gadsden, Alabama, have agreed to pay the United States $428,343 to settle claims that they defrauded Medicare. The...

St. Mary's Hospital to pay $1.25 million settlement. (In the News).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... St. Mary's Hospital and Medical Center, Grand Junction, Colorado, has agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle allegations that it caused false claims to be submitted for payment by Federal healthcare benefit programs. The agreement settles...

Allina to pay $16 million fraud settlement. (In the News).
March 1, 2002... Allina Health System, Minneapolis, Minnesota, will pay the United States $16 million to resolve allegations that it fraudulently overbilled Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE/CHAMPUS, the military healthcare programs. As part of the settlement,...

Four hospitals among Fortune's 100 best firms. (In the News).
March 1, 2002... Four healthcare organizations are included in Fortune's list of 100 best companies to work for. The winners were chosen from 279 candidates. Two-thirds of the score is based on results of a survey of randomly selected employees regarding the...

HFMA names nominees to 2002-03 board of directors. (HFMA News).
March 1, 2002... HFMA has announced the slate of candidates nominated for officer and director positions on the 2002-03 HFMA Board of Directors. Nominated for chairman-elect is David P. Canfield, FHFMA, who currently serves as secretary/treasurer on the Board....

HFMA launches new web site. (HFMA News).
March 1, 2002... HFMA has launched an expanded Web site that offers easier navigation, simplified log-in for members, and reader-friendly focus areas in the Resource Center. The Web site's URL continues to be www.hfma.org. The new Web site allows members...

HFM updates focus areas. (HFMA News).
March 1, 2002... HEALTHCARE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT is introducing two new focus areas in this issue: Medicare/Medicaid and Business. These focus areas replace Group Practice Management and Integrated Delivery Systems. The Managed Care focus area will continue to...

Health care is casualty in current budget battle. (FYI).
March 1, 2002... "They are going to want to address these issues because it's right and because of political reasons. But the problem is coming up with the money to do something meaningful. The two big problems--prescription drugs and the uninsured--are...

Nowak: Success depends on commitment to enhancing quality, staff morale. (Executive Insights).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Martin C. Nowak, MHA, FACHE, is executive director/CEO for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Hospital, which is part of the UAB Health System. Nowak began his career at UAB Hospital in the early 1980s. During the 1990s, he briefly...

Medical advancements determine health-system capacity requirements. (Business).
March 1, 2002... As the rate of advancements in medical technology accelerates, healthcare executives need to anticipate the impact that these advancements will have on health-system demand and capacity requirements. Determining these requirements is critical...

A managed care cycle provides contract oversight. (Managed Care).
March 1, 2002... In response to poor payment performance by health plans, providers are realizing that managed care contracts require systematic, ongoing management rather than a periodic focus. An effective managed care cycle that encompasses strategy...

"Must-Know" legal issues for healthcare CFOs.
March 1, 2002... Healthcare financial managers are finding that regulatory agencies' customary focus on Medicare and tax-exemption concerns is shifting to other issues directly related to financial management. Regulatory agencies, such as the Securities and...

Corporate integrity agreements: Making the best of a tough situation.
March 1, 2002... Healthcare providers increasingly are entering into corporate integrity agreements as part of settlements with the Federal government in fraud-and-abuse cases. Providers pursue these settlements to avoid the costs of defending themselves...

Using the OIG model compliance programs to fight fraud.(HHS Office of Inspector General)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Many healthcare organizations already have implemented compliance programs for their facilities. However, in light of recent fines and continued scrutiny of such programs by the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), healthcare organizations...

Medicare + Choice: What lies ahead? (Medicare/Medicaid).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Health plans have continued to exit the Medicare+Choice program in recent years, despite efforts of Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reform the program. Congress and CMS therefore stand poised to make...

Rising healthcare spending gives pause to congress and the public. (Medicare/Medicaid).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) report announced that the nation's overall rate of growth in healthcare spending rose for the second consecutive year in 2000. The increase occurred in both private and public sectors of...

Achievement and balance: What do managers really want? (Management Issues).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Managers need to know whether they seek balanced employees or focused employees. To make an appropriate decision about whether to encourage balance in life or achievement at work among their employees, managers need to understand their...

Biometrics technology adds innovation to healthcare organization security systems. (Digital Perspectives).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Biometrics is a science that focuses on the statistical analysis of physical or behavioral traits that determine individual identity. Biometrics can he used to verify the identity of an individual based on the measurement and analysis of unique...

People.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Kelly E. Gregg, FHFMA (North Carolina Chapter), has been named administrator, Carolina Regional Orthopaedics, Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Previously, he was vice president--business development, Health Associates of Kentucky, Lexington,...

CFOs rely on several measures for decision making. (Data Trends).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A recent survey asked healthcare CFOs to rate common healthcare cost-accounting variables as monitors of clinical performance to help in making daily decisions regarding cost controls. The variables were defined as: * Direct costs per...

Contemporary Health Policy. (Bookshelf).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... By Beaufort B. Longest, Jr., PhD, FACHE Health Administration Press, Chicago, Illinois, 2001 579 pages; $68 As the United States enters a new millennium, it sometimes seems that little has changed in the nation's discussion of healthcare...

Calendar.(Calendar of Events)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Calendar Spring 2002 Seminars Level Seminar 4/15-18 San Diego, CA ...