Healthcare Financial Management articles from March 2007

Healthcare Financial Management archives from March 2007

States taking the reins on healthcare reform ...(State Watch)
March 1, 2007... The lack of federal action on healthcare reform, combined with the growing number of uninsured Americans and the declining number of employers offering insurance, has resulted in more states taking strong initiative in 2007. Actions by a...

... But Oregon's healthcare initiative holds lessons for other states.(NEWS WATCH)(Oregon Health Plan)
March 1, 2007... When it was first enacted in 1989, and approved by the federal government as a Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration project in 1993, the Oregon Health Plan represented a leading state policy innovation that sparked a national debate on rationing...

As of Oct. 1, 2007, providers billing for services paid under the Medicare physician fee schedule and anesthesia services are required to submit a nine-digit ZIP code.(CMS)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... As of Oct. 1, 2007, providers billing for services paid under the Medicare physician fee schedule and anesthesia services are required to submit a nine-digit ZIP code when the services are provided in areas with more than one payment locality....

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has clarified that it pays nonphysician practitioners directly for services rendered in the hospital.(CMS)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has clarified that it pays nonphysician practitioners directly for services rendered in the hospital. According to CMS, carriers will pay for hospital professional services furnished by nurse...

Focus on covering the uninsured, reducing health costs, say healthcare leaders.(NEWS WATCH)
March 1, 2007... Expanding coverage for the uninsured should be the top healthcare priority for Congress over the next five years, identified as "absolutely essential" or "very important" by 88 percent of respondents to the latest Commonwealth Fund Health Care...

CMS has published a proposed rule (Federal Register, Jan. 18, 2007).(FEDERAL REGISTER)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... CMS has published a proposed rule (Federal Register, Jan. 18, 2007) that would clarify that entities involved in the financing of the nonfederal share of Medicaid payments must be a unit of government, clarify the documentation required to...

A new proposed rule (Federal Register, Feb. 1, 2007) would change Medicare's policies for graduate medical education payments to teaching hospitals when residents are being trained in nonhospital settings.(FEDERAL REGISTER)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... A new proposed rule (Federal Register, Feb. 1, 2007) would change Medicare's policies for graduate medical education payments to teaching hospitals when residents are being trained in non-hospital settings. Currently, hospitals must pay for...

Tax deduction for health insurance would curb spending, says Bush.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... A standard tax deduction for health insurance will "level the playing field," according to President Bush in his Jan. 23 State of the Union address. "When it comes to health care, government has an obligation to care for the elderly, the...

Bush administration budget proposal unkind to providers.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... In his FY08 budget proposal released Feb. 5, President Bush took aim at Medicare and Medicaid--and the news is not good for providers. If adopted, the proposed budget would save $65.6 billion over the next five years in Medicare spending;...

Citizenship documentation requirement causing many to lose coverage: study.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The federal requirement that individuals must document their U.S. citizenship when they apply for or renew their Medicaid coverage is reducing Medicaid enrollment, particularly among low-income children, and raising state administrative costs,...

Wal-Mart and SEIU join in appeal for universal health insurance.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)
March 1, 2007... In an unlikely alliance, the CEO of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and the president of the Service Employees International Union announced a campaign to overhaul the nation's healthcare system by 2012.

Comparison shopping limited in self-pay markets: study.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Consumers do limited comparison shopping for the lowest- cost, highest- quality care, even when they are paying the full cost of medical care out of pocket, according to a study by researchers at the Center for Studying Health System Change...

With SCHIP set to expire, partisan battle may be looming.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(State Children's Health Insurance Program)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... As expiration of the State Children's Health Insurance Program nears, Congress faces a potential battle over funding the popular program at levels that will keep pace with the increasing cost of health care, according to the Los Angeles Times.

CMS to award $8.7 million in pay-for-performance bonuses.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... With the second year of a three-year Medicare pay-for-performance demonstration project completed, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will award bonuses of $8.7 million to 115 hospitals that received the highest scores on 30 quality...

Kitty Crochet.(Member Spotlight)(dialogue with Pat Nervina)(Interview)
March 1, 2007... Pat Nervina crochets soft, stylish scarves and sells them to raise funds for cats in need. Pat Nervina never imagined that resuming crochet after a decade would someday help cats who are abused or in need of veterinary care, shelter, or a...

Caffeine buzz greater in small doses.(Strange, but True)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Looking for a quick pick-me-up from a strong cup of java? A scientific study shows drinking caffeine in small doses at regular intervals actually has a greater effect than drinking the same amount of caffeine at one sitting-and can also...

They say it's your birthday ...(birthday celebrations)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... On Jan. 26, HFMA members from the South Texas Chapter helped Chairman Joe Filer, FHFMA, CPA, celebrate his birthday at the Healthcare Landscapes 2007 conference in San Antonio. The celebration included a mariachi band. Pictured left to right...

Cost, cost, go away--is capitation here to stay?(20 Years Ago in hfm)
March 1, 2007... Twenty years ago, the cover article in hfm dealt with capitation. At that time, many in the healthcare field speculated that capitation would become "the next method of payment for services after [diagnosis-related groups]," wrote author Stuart...

Site seeing.
March 1, 2007... HFMA Roundtable: An Effective Documentation Strategy. This report is based on a roundtable of senior financial executives describing their organizations' strategies for improving documentation. Roundtable participants offer practical advice on...

Overseas health care: unconscionable outsourcing?(Letter to the Editor)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... In an attempt to reduce healthcare costs, a U.S. company is encouraging its employees to go abroad for necessary medical or surgical care. A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor noted that Blue Ridge Paper Products, North Carolina,...

Overheard.(ETCETERA)(health care)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... "The main purpose of all this is to improve quality.... If I'm running a hospital and see that I fall in a category that's worse than 98 percent of hospitals, that's going to grab my attention. I'd look to see if we could improve." ...

Do the thing you think you cannot do.(Courage IN LEADERSHIP)(health-care financing)
March 1, 2007... I chose courage in leadership for my theme this year for many reasons, some of which are personal and have special meaning for how I journey through my career and my life. But the theme also reflects the significant need for us to lead the...

James Woodburn, MD: on retail-based health clinics.(hfm Q&A)(Interview)(Company overview)
March 1, 2007... Retail-based health clinics have established a foothold across the nation and are a growing trend. With the costs of health services rising, these clinics offer affordable services in convenient locations, usually with only a short wait for...

Thinking inside the box: I demonstrated some inside-the-box thinking the other day in a discussion about payment-system reform.(FROM THE EDITOR)(Editorial)
March 1, 2007... I was on the phone with a freelance writer discussing interviews he would be conducting for an article about overcoming barriers to changing the healthcare payment system. "Don't spend much time talking about a single-payer system," I...

HFMA's CEO comments on medical debt on "NBC Nightly News".(HFMA NEWS)(Richard L. Clarke)(Healthcare Financial Management Association )
March 1, 2007... HFMA President and CEO Richard L. Clarke, DHA, FHFMA, discussed the increase in the number of consumers who are using credit cards to pay for their medical expenses during a segment on "NBC Nightly News." The segment aired Feb. 7, 2007, and...

HFMA expands e-learning content distributors.(HFMA NEWS)(Healthcare Financial Management )(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... HFMA now provides e-learning content covering the most important issues in healthcare finance through two organizations: MC Strategies and KnowledgePlanet. HFMA has renewed its relationship with MC Strategies as a distributor of its...

Earn founder's points by reviewing hfm articles.(HFMA NEWS)
March 1, 2007... If you enjoy keeping up with the latest healthcare finance trends, hfm may have an opportunity for you. We're seeking HFMA members with the expertise necessary to review articles submitted for publication in the magazine. If you have the...

Applications now accepted for Helen M. Yerger award.(HFMA NEWS)
March 1, 2007... Chapter leaders: Now is the time to prepare your entries for the Helen M. Yerger Special Recognition Award! The award honors outstanding performance achieved through excellence in chapter programs, services, and administration. The deadline for...

Debating health care at long last: In his 2007 State of the Union address in January, President Bush could not very well remain mum on the topic of health care-not with nearly 50 million Americans having no health insurance, and almost 10 million of them children.(EYE ON WASHINGTON)
March 1, 2007... So, of course, he did talk about health care. But, not surprisingly, once again, he put all his eggs into his "privatization" basket, arguing that a virtually free market will be the answer to almost all the nation's healthcare woes. And, once...

Breaking down barriers to electronic claims settlement.(MANAGED CARE)
March 1, 2007... According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, $323 billion is spent each year on healthcare administrative costs alone. Although controlling these costs is a perpetual challenge, providers do have some low-hanging fruit. Simple...

Recent developments in Medicare Part D 7 things providers should know.(MEDICARE/MEDICAID)
March 1, 2007... The second year of Medicare's Part D benefit began on Jan. 1, 2007, with an updated benefit design and other changes that will have important implications for drug plans, healthcare systems, and pharmacies and other providers directly involved...

Caring for the uninsured a financial executive's top 10 list: providing health care for the uninsured is an ongoing national concern that affects all Americans, but it also is an immediate concern for a hospital's CFO.
March 1, 2007... The plight of Americans who lack health insurance or who are underinsured is among the gravest concern facing our nation--and the weight of this concern falls heavily on the shoulders of healthcare financial executives. It is the CFO or other...

Patient financial management as a community benefit: Hospitals can better articulate the true extent of the community benefit they provide by sharing the ways their medical assistance outreach programs benefit the community.(FEATURE STORY)
March 1, 2007... When it comes to reporting community benefit, hospitals tend to report charity and bad debt write-offs, losses from Medicaid or state assistance plan contractual adjustments, and perhaps even charitable contributions and education-related...

The case for a new American healthcare system: There is no shortage of policy papers, commissions, committees, and conferences on the problems that plague the healthcare system in America today.(COMMENTARY)
March 1, 2007... It is probably the most talked about, the most studied, and the least acted upon issue our country faces. And that needs to change. At the Service Employees International Union, we look at health care from a number of different vantage...

Spinning straw into gold smarter bad debt management: Meridian Health overpaid one collection agency $97,000 in fees, and that was just one reason to improve its bad debt management.(FEATURE STORY)
March 1, 2007... With razor-thin margins, healthcare providers are beginning to tap a once overlooked area of revenue potential: bad debt management. Hospitals generate more than $25 billion a year in uncompensated care charges, which include bad debt. This...

The revitalization of a business office: How one system increased its self-pay collections: three years ago, the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati learned a valuable lesson: collections mean more than simply reminding patients of balances due.(FEATURE STORY)
March 1, 2007... An unexpected medical emergency or chronic illness can be overwhelming. The medical situation itself is stressful, but dealing with insurance companies or asking for financial assistance with medical bills can place patients and their families...

Patient access: A new face for the revenue cycle: patients' first impressions of hospitals are likely to improve dramatically as a result of recent breakthroughs in managing the revenue cycle's patient access processes.(FEATURE STORY)
March 1, 2007... It is not far-fetched to call scheduling and registration processes the "face" of a hospitals' revenue cycle operations. A patient's first encounter with a hospital's revenue cycle typically occurs with these processes, and it is here where the...

Lessons learned at Parkland: How one hospital reworked its front end: what happens when patients who aren't residents of a county improperly use that county's public hospital resources? That situation faced Parkland Memorial Hospital last summer.(FEATURE STORY)
March 1, 2007... Hospitals today face a challenge in confirming whether all the demographic and financial information submitted by patients is accurate. Some patients may be intentionally misleading healthcare providers in order to receive free care. In...

Solving the riddle of inpatient rehabilitation coverage: inpatient rehabilitation facilities seeking Medicare payment should rigorously appeal every case that meets the eight criteria of Ruling 85-2.(FEATURE STORY)
March 1, 2007... When can things change while staying the same? Sometimes Medicare can seem like a riddle. The morass of Medicare rules, which include the Code of Federal Regulations, daily notices in the Federal Register, rulings by the federal Centers for...

Charity care and patient assistance fund administrative policy.(hfm TOOLBOX)(Chelsea Community Hospital)
March 1, 2007... Chelsea Community Hospital, a facility with 113 beds located in Chelsea, Mich., established a Patient Assistance Fund to assist the hospital in providing services to patients in need. Donors to the fund are community residents who want to help....

ANI: The Healthcare Finance Conference: meeting your challenges, refreshing your spirit.
March 1, 2007... HFMA's ANI 2007 June 24-27 San Diego, California ANI GIVES YOU EXCITING NEW SOLUTIONS TO YOUR MOST PRESSING CONCERNS. The goal of healthcare finance is to provide the resources for patient care. But achieving that goal grows...

Hiring: Get it right the first time: have you ever made a hiring mistake? How long did it take to discover the error once you made it? And how long did it take to correct the error?(LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT)
March 1, 2007... Hiring mistakes cannot be fixed as easily as correcting a math error on a spreadsheet. According to a variety of sources, the cost of hiring mistakes has been estimated at between two and six times salary. What are the common mistakes that...

e-health is the way via SOA.(INSIDE IT)(service-oriented architecture)
March 1, 2007... Looking beyond the medical breakthroughs and the personal approach and bedside manner required for clinical success at the point of care, we mustn't lose sight of the fact that the global healthcare delivery system is, at its core, a business....

Marketing accountability: beyond ROI: comprehensive measurement and reporting can lead to a broader understanding of marketing's relationship to success.(NEW REVENUE GROWTH)(return on investment )
March 1, 2007... Let's agree that ROI is the general yardstick for measuring a program's performance. But if you admit to that, you must also admit that it can be a rather ambiguous metric. Return on what--revenue, contribution margin, net? What's a good return...

Hospital financial results on the elevator--with a breakfast burrito: we recently had one of those scrolling news monitors installed in the elevator where I work.(CAPITAL FINANCE)
March 1, 2007... A lot of riders sneered at it at first as another example of information overload for the Blackberry generation. But it has become an accepted--even a welcome--part of life in our section of the New York financial community. Quirky, but...

Calendar.(Calendar)
March 1, 2007... NATIONAL EVENTS March 5-8 Eleven seminars covering financial Spring Seminars management, the revenue cycle, and Dallas managed care operations and ...

Rick Annis, FHFMA (Metropolitan New York Chapter).(PEOPLE)(appointment at Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America,)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Mr. Annis has been appointed CFO, Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, New York. He had been vice president and CFO, Yeshiva University, New York.

Deborah Bitsoli (Massachusetts Chapter).(PEOPLE)
March 1, 2007... Ms. Bitsoli has been named COO, MetroWest Medical Center, Framingham, Mass. Formerly, she was associate COO/Cambridge Hospital administrator, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, Mass.

Eric Burgmaier, CPA (New Mexico Chapter).(PEOPLE)
March 1, 2007... Mr. Burgmaier has been appointed CFO, Lovelace Sandia Health System, Albuquerque, N.M. Previously, he was CFO, University Physician Associates, Albuquerque.

William J. Lammers, CPA (Virginia Chapter).(PEOPLE)(certified public accountants)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Mr. Lammers has been named health systems advisor, Office of Insured Health Care Facilities, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C. Previously, he was senior vice president and CFO, Sisters of St. Francis Health...

Kevin McPoyle, CPA (Metropolitan Philadelphia Chapter).(PEOPLE)
March 1, 2007... Mr. McPoyle has been appointed compliance and privacy officer, Zavata, Inc., Conshohocken, Pa. He had been compliance and privacy officer, Frankford Hospital, Philadelphia.

Matthew K. Fulton (Kentucky Chapter).(PEOPLE)
March 1, 2007... Mr. Fulton has joined Healthcare Strategy Group, LLC, Louisville, Ky., as senior consultant. He had been staff accountant, Blue and Co., Louisville.

Joseph Pace, CPC (Texas Gulf Coast Chapter).(PEOPLE)(appointed at St. Joseph's Medical Center)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Mr. Pace has been named productivity manager, St. Joseph's Medical Center, Houston. Previously, he was senior decision support specialist, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

John Rock, MD (Florida Chapter).(PEOPLE)(appointment)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Dr. Rock has joined Florida International University, Miami, as senior vice president of medical affairs and dean, College of Medicine. He had been chancellor emeritus and professor of obstetrics and gynecology, LSU Health Sciences Center, New...

Richard Warren (Wyoming Chapter).(PEOPLE)
March 1, 2007... Mr. Warren has been named CFO, WINhealth Partners, Cheyenne, Wyo. Previously, he was CFO, Olympic Health Management and Sterling Life Insurance, Bellingham, Wash.

Shana K. Wolfe, CMA, CHC (Appalachian Chapter of Central Pennsylvania).(PEOPLE)(appointed at Fulton County Medical Center)(certified management accountant )(Commonwealth Health Corporation)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Ms. Wolfe has been appointed vice president and CFO, Fulton County Medical Center, McConnellsburg, Pa. Formerly, she was director of corporate compliance operations, MedStar Health, Columbia, Md.

Pamela Dapuzzo (Metropolitan New York Chapter).(PEOPLE)(appointment)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Ms. Dapuzzo has joined Complete Management Solutions, LLC, Hauppauge, N.Y., as vice president, consulting services. Previously, she was vice president, coding and compliance, Advanced Health Management Services, Inc., Hauppauge, N.Y.

Rochelle L. Janoff (Florida Chapter).(PEOPLE)(appointment at Jupiter Medical Center)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Ms. Janoff has been named director of patient financial services, Jupiter Medical Center, Jupiter, Fla. She had been director for revenue cycle, Bayfront Medical Center, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Shawn O'Neill, MBA (Minnesota Chapter).(PEOPLE)
March 1, 2007... Mr. O'Neill has been appointed senior financial analyst, Fairview Lakes Health Services, Wyoming, Minn. Formerly, he was senior financial analyst, Phillips Eye Institute, Minneapolis.

Carol Pistorio (First Illinois Chapter).(PEOPLE)
March 1, 2007... Ms. Pistorio has joined MedVentive, Cambridge, Mass., as regional sales director. Previously, she was regional sales manager, ChartOne, Rosemont, Ill.

Michael L. Taylor, FHFMA (Southwest Ohio Chapter).(PEOPLE)
March 1, 2007... Mr. Taylor has been promoted from vice president, payer relations, to vice president, revenue cycle management, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati.

Uncompensated hospital care: a look at the trends.(DATA TRENDS)
March 1, 2007... The two aspects of uncompensated hospital costs are charity care and bad debt. Hospital policies generally determine whether a patient is deemed able to pay for services. Charity care is the cost of services (net of any contractual allowances)...

Those devilish details: The old saying "the devil is in the details" applies well to the federal budget mess. While many agree on the goal to balance the federal budget, the details of how to get there spark lively debate.(FROM THE PRESIDENT)
March 1, 2007... In early February, President Bush released his budget proposal to the Congress. The proposal reflects the Bush administration's goal to balance the federal budget by 2012 from a current official deficit of $248 billion. That goal, and even its...

By the numbers: Using data for optimal service line management.
March 1, 2007... Effective service line management depends on thoughtful decisions about which services to grow and how to grow them given ever-changing market position and varying degrees of profitability. For something so complex and yet fundamental to the...

Is your capital investment strategy ready for consumerism?(hfma rountable)(Discussion)
March 1, 2007... As hospitals confront the challenges associated with rising consumerism, debate continues over the real impact that the acquisition of consumer friendly and quality-focused technology will have on consumer choice. External pressures to purchase...

Dispelling the Myths: The True Cost of Healthcare-Associated Infections.(WHAT'S ON HFMA'S TO-READ LIST?)(Book review)
March 1, 2007... Healthcare-associated infections result in 100,000 deaths a year by some estimates. While healthcare executives may recognize the serious threat to patient health that HAIs present, they often aren't aware of the significant financial drain...