Healthcare Financial Management articles from November 2004

Healthcare Financial Management archives from November 2004

CMS clarifies application process for redistributed FTE slots.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
November 1, 2004... Qualifying hospitals that submit appropriate and timely applications may receive up to 25 additional fulltime equivalent (FFE) resident cap slots from those being redistributed under Section 42a of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement,...

Increased Medicare premium and deductible rates announced.(Policy Watch)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... In 2005, the monthly Medicare Part B premium will rise to $78.20, an increase of $11.60 from this year's premium of $66.60, HHS announced September 3. HHS reports that the new premiums reflect general growth in healthcare costs, higher payments...

CMS issues instructions on changing inpatient admissions to outpatient.(Policy Watch)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... In a transmittal issued on September 10, CMS outlined the conditions under which a hospital can change a Medicare beneficiary's status from inpatient to outpatient based on a determination by the utilization review committee that the inpatient...

DME competitive bidding committee appointed.(Department of Medical Education)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... On September 24, CMS announced the appointment of a committee to advise the agency about the implementation of competitive bidding for durable medical equipment (DME) provided to Medicare beneficiaries. The committee will advise CMS on...

... CMS has announced it will conduct large-scale programs under the Voluntary Chronic Care Improvement Program mandated by the MMA.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... CMS has announced it will conduct large-scale programs under the Voluntary Chronic Care Improvement Program mandated by the MMA. In transmittal 256, CMS states that private organizations can contract with the agency to provide chronic care...

HHS "Early Offers" program aimed at reducing litigation costs.(Policy Watch)(Health and Human Services)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... HHS secretary Tommy Thompson has announced an "Early Offers" pilot program intended to reduce litigation costs by encouraging settlements with patients claiming to have been injured by medical errors. Thompson suggests the program could become...

... The OIG released separate audit reports on three hospitals that did not comply with Medicare law, regulations, and guidelines for claiming organ acquisition costs and received excess Medicare payment for organ acquisition activities.(Office of Inspector General)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The OIG released separate audit reports on three hospitals that did not comply with Medicare law, regulations, and guidelines for claiming organ acquisition costs and received excess Medicare payment for organ acquisition activities. The...

... The use of outpatient professional services for behavioral health disorders has increased more than 25 percent during the three-year period from 2000 through 2002, the American Managed Behavioral Healthcare Association (AMBHA) reported September 14.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The use of outpatient professional services for behavioral health disorders has increased more than 25 percent during the three-year period from 2000 through 2002, the American Managed Behavioral Healthcare Association (AMBHA) reported...

CMS updates issued for outpatient PPS, physician fee schedule.(Prospective payment systems)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... CMS has published the fourth- quarter update to the current hospital outpatient PPS rules. Some of the changes include payment for drugs and biologicals recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration, newly approved drugs for...

GAO concludes Scully broke appropriations law.(Policy Watch)(Government Accountability Office)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has concluded in a legal opinion that former CMS administrator Tom Scully should pay back the government salary he received after he prohibited CMS chief actuary Richard Foster from giving legislators...

MMA cuts more than expected from oncology services.(Policy Watch)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Beginning in 2005, Medicare funding for chemotherapy services will be reduced by 43 percent, according to a report released September 8 by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). The funding reductions were part of the MMA. In...

Hospital billing practices and the uninsured: an emerging legislative response: bad debt and the costs of charity care pose financial challenges that often place not-for-profit hospitals in a "catch-22" situation.(State Policy Watch)(Medical bills)
November 1, 2004... Few hospitals enjoy a wide enough profit margin to provide substantial charity care and then simply write off all of their bad debt, without regard for whether patients can actually pay. Yet focused efforts to avoid bad debt can undermine a...

Patient-friendly billing: are your bills patient-friendly? If not, we're here to help.(From The Chairman)
November 1, 2004... As I travel around the country to attend HFMA chapter meetings, I often ask how many attendees have heard of HFMA's PATIENT FRIENDLY BILLING project. I'm pleased to see a growing number of bands go up. My follow-up question-"Do you work for an...

MedPAC explores hospital pricing practices.(Industry Watch)(Medicare Payment Advisory Commission)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is focusing on the hospital pricing issue. At its September 10 meeting, MedPAC reviewed findings of a research project that it commissioned from the Lewin Group on hospitals' charge-setting...

Uninsured growing, premiums rising faster than earnings.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Despite fewer health benefits for families, average health insurance premium costs for employees rose at least three times faster than average earnings from 2000 to 2004. For 14.3 million Americans, healthcare costs consumed more than...

Number of uninsured adults grows.(Industry Watch)(Kaiser Commission)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The number of uninsured adults under age 65 increased by 5.1 million between 2000 and 2003, according to a new report released by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. Factors contributing to the decline include: * Increased...

S&P expects more healthcare downgrades next year.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Low interest rates in the months ahead could lead to more aggressive financial leveraging and a year of more downgrades than upgrades, says the latest Standard & Poors (S&P) report on U.S. corporate health care. Recent rating reductions are...

Employer-sponsored health premiums average 11.2 percent increase.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums increased an average of 11.2 percent in 2004, less than last year's 13.9 percent increase, but this is still the fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth, according to the 2004 Annual Employer...

Out-of-pocket expenses high for privately insured patients with chronic conditions.(Industry Watch)(Health System Change)(Low income people)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Low-income working individuals with chronic health conditions are experiencing difficulties paying their medical bills, even though they have private health insurance, according to a report published by the Center for Studying Health System...

MedPAC finds specialty hospital picture unclear.(Industry Watch)(Medicare Payment Advisory Commission)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is undecided on whether the positives of the MMA-mandated specialty hospital moratorium outweigh the negatives, according to findings presented by MedPAC staff September 10. MedPAC was directed...

Study identifies steps to EHR implementation.(Industry Watch)(Electronic Health Record)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The healthcare industry can overcome barriers to adoption of the electronic health record (EHR), according to a new study by Capgemini. Moving Health Information Technology to the Next Level: The Electronic Health Record explores the key...

NCQA releases its 2004 health care quality report.(Industry Watch)(National Committe For Quality Assurance)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The quality of care delivered by health plans that publicly report performance improved markedly last year; however, the U.S. healthcare system remains plagued by deadly "quality gaps" that contribute to 42,000 to 79,000 avoidable deaths every...

Survey: Americans find health care lacking.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Two out of three American adults (67 percent) now think healthcare coverage should be a guarantee, as in Canada, Britain, and other nations, according to Americans & Health Gate Reform: How Access and Affordability Are Shaping Views, a survey...

Quotes of note.(Industry Watch)
November 1, 2004... "This was a corruption of the process at the highest levels... What is still unclear is who in the Bush White House ordered Mr. Scully not to reveal this information." --Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) on a GAO report finding that former...

Study: U.S. health professions separate but unequal.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A lack of diversity among healthcare professionals is placing the health of at least one-third of the nation at risk, according to Missing Persons: Minorities in the Health Protessions, a recent study by the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in...

HFMA joins effort to simplify municipal bond filing process.(Healthcare Financial Management Association )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... HFMA recently joined with 18 industry organizations to develop an electronic central post office (CPO) that will make it easier for bond issuers to file secondary market disclosure documents. Working with the Municipal Advisory Council of...

Training profoundly impacts revenue cycle, says HFMA survey.(Healthcare Financial Management Association )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Forty-seven percent of those responding to a recent HFMA revenue cycle survey indicate improved staff training is having a high, measurable impact on their revenue cycle performance. Results of the poll, which analyzed responses from 254 HFMA...

Future areas of focus.(HFMA News)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 1, 2004... FUTURE AREAS OF FOCUS Front End 56% Clinical/Care 50% Point of Service 47% Overall 46% Revenue Capture 46% Back End 45% Chargemaster Overhaul 30% Strategy...

HFMA provides PPS resource.(HFMA News)(Healthcare Financial Management)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Medicare outpatient PPS spending is expected to increase $1.5 billion more in 2005 than in 2004, resulting from expected enrollment, utilization, and case-mix changes. To help hospitals understand how they will be affected, HFMA's Resource...

How front-line staff can avoid denied claims.(HFMA News)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A new e-learning series gives front-line staff the skills to ensure claims are accurate and complete the first time. For information, contact Meg Flanagan at (800) 252-4362, ext. 310, or orglearning@hfma.org.

Region 9 hosts symposium.(HFMA News)(Calendar)
November 1, 2004... This year's Region 9 Symposium, "Revenue & All That Jazz, 2nd Verse," will take place December 1-3 in New Orleans. General sessions include: * "How to Hire |he Best People: A Nuts and Bolts Workshop," featuring Carson F. Dye, partner, Witt...

Election 2004: health care is the loser: it doesn't matter which candidate has come out on top in this year's election--there is one clear loser: the American healthcare system.(Eye On Washington)
November 1, 2004... Given the many challenges facing the nation's healthcare industry, we had every right to expect a much more substantive debate about what the nation's leaders must do to address our health care needs now and in the near future. Instead, we...

ICD-10: capturing the complexities of health care.(International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems )
November 1, 2004... Coding is the language of health care for both providers and payers. The transition to the ICD-10-CM (diagnoses) and ICD-10-PCS (procedures) coding system is expected to take place within the next few years. The new system provides a...

Consumer-driven health plans: implications for providers.(Managed Care)
November 1, 2004... AT A GLANCE By shifting more healthcare costs to workers, employers are hoping to slow the rise in company costs. It is too early to tell whether these consumer-driven health plans will address the issue of soaring costs. However, one...

Are you of good report?(Medicare/Medicaid)
November 1, 2004... AT A GLANCE Past Medicare credit balance reports may come back to haunt you as current federal enforcement activities indicate they could easily fall under False Claims Act scrutiny. Imagine that your coworker suspects that the medical...

Joint resolution blending finance and strategy: CFOs should play an active leadership role in the healthcare organization's strategic planning process.(Chief financial officers)(Cover Story)
November 1, 2004... AT A GLANCE When strategic planning and financial planning are disconnected processes, healthcare organizations can rarely accomplish the integrated, analysis-based decision making that ensures long-term access to capital. CFOs need to be...

Effective demand forecasting in 9 steps: shifts in demand for a hospital's services can occur unexpectedly. Demand forecasting can help you prepare for these shifts and avoid strategic missteps.(Feature Story)
November 1, 2004... AT A GLANCE Effective forecasting of demand for healthcare services requires nine steps: 1. Assemble historical data 2. Analyze historical trends 3. Identify key demand drivers 4. Identify relevant benchmarks 5....

Strategic business planning linking strategy with financial reality: linking long-term strategy with near-term financial and operational realities makes for a clearer march toward key objectives.(Feature Story)
November 1, 2004... AT A GLANCE To succeed in today's complex and often adverse business environment, a healthcare organization's strategic direction must be calculated, focused, and financially sustainable, Strategic business planning is an essential tool to...

7 steps for evaluating primary care practice ownership: burned by physician practice ownership in the past? Chances are your strategy was ill-fated from the start.(Feature Story)(Industry Overview)
November 1, 2004... AT A GLANCE Hospitals shouldn't dismiss a primary care practice ownership strategy from the outset. Instead, it's important to learn from past missteps and conduct a thorough analysis of the opportunity by focusing on population growth and...

The business case for better buildings.(Feature Story)
November 1, 2004... "We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us."--Winston Churchill, in a speech to Britain's House of Commons on October 28, 1943 AT A GLANCE Beginning in 2000, a research collaborative of progressive healthcare...

New reimbursement models reward clinical excellence: pay-for-performance means that quality and revenue are no longer separate issues for healthcare providers.(Feature Story)
November 1, 2004... AT A GLANCE Pay-for-performance is an emerging payment model that links quality of care with the level of payment for healthcare services. While pay-for-performance programs are still in their formative stages, hospitals need to prepare by...

Key strategies for sustained performance improvement.
November 1, 2004... No healthcare organization today can be complacent about clinical, operational, or financial performance. The stakes are just too high. The Institute of Medicine's seminal 1999 report galvanized the healthcare industry and nation around the...

Reinventing yourself: every day: CFOs who want lasting success need to reinvent themselves. Are you up to the challenge?(Leadership And Management)
November 1, 2004... Recently, I was talking with a CEO who had to replace his CFO last year. He fold me he did not reach this decision easily and, in fact, had to spend some time preparing his board's executive committee for it. Although the CFO had served the...

Aiming for more than a base HIT: HHS has declared that we are starting the decade of health information technology (HIT). A national health information infrastructure is envisioned, and momentum is growing for electronic health records (EHRs).(Digital Perspectives)
November 1, 2004... AT A GLANCE To position themselves for optimal use of health information technology through goals such as electronic health records and the eventual transition to a national health information infrastructure, providers need to make better...

Signed, screened, and delivered: a tried-and-true method for helping people discover whether they are at risk for serious illness? A huge revenue driver? Health screenings can be both.(New Revenue Growth)
November 1, 2004... Historically viewed as public relations tools, health screenings can represent a key strategy in developing both short-term and long-term revenue. They do so for one obvious reason: they find people who are in need of care quickly. Health...

An unusual capital source for rural hospitals: agriculture: did you ever think of going to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to fund your capital project?(Capital Finance)
November 1, 2004... For at least the past five decades, the USDA has supported the financial development of crucial facilities, businesses, and industry in rural America. Although its earlier name Farmers Home Administration (abbreviated "FmHA," not to be confused...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
November 1, 2004... The August 2004 "Capital Finance" column discussed a rural hospital financing that was characterized as the first critical access hospital (CAH) financed with bonds enhanced by HUD FHA-242 mortgage insurance. The hospital in question was Rio...

The Economics of Health Reconsidered, Second Edition.(Book Review)
November 1, 2004... The Economics of Health Reconsidered, Second Edition Thomas Rice Health Administration Press 341 pages; $69 www.ache.org/hap.cfm The Economics of Health Reconsidered. Second Edition is an excellent resource that applies economic...

Calendar.(Illustration)(Calendar)
November 1, 2004... Fall 2004 Seminars Level Seminar 11/8-11 12/6-9 Orlando, FL Chicago Financial Management I/A Achieving Breakthrough Performance:...

Russell Armistead (North Carolina Chapter).(People)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Russell Armistead (North Carolina Chapter) Mr. Armistead has been appointed associate vice president, finance and planning, University of Florida, Gainseville, Fla. Previously, he was president, Armistead Consulting, LLC. Winston- Salem, N.C.

Odin Berg (First Illinois Chapter).(People)(Provena Saint Joseph Hospital)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Odin Berg (First Illinois Chapter) Mr. Berg has joined Provena Saint Joseph Hospital, Elgin, Ill., as vice president of finance and CFO. Formerly, he was vice president of finance, Methodist Hearth Services Corporation, Peoria, Ill.

Vicki Z. Lauter (Georgia Chapter).(People)(Possible Woman Foundation International)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Vicki Z. Lauter (Georgia Chapter) Ms. Lauter has been recently appointed to the board of directors of the Possible Woman Foundation International, based in Atlanta. She is president, Z=mc2. Atlanta.

Sergio Melgar (Southern California Chapter).(People)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Sergio Melgar (Southern California Chapter) Mr. Melgar has been appointed CFO, the University of Kentucky HealthCare Enterprise, Lexington, Ky. Previously, he was CFO, the University of California, Los Angeles.

Christopher R. Giuliano, FHFMA (Metropolitan New York).(People)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Christopher R. Giuliano, FHFMA (Metropolitan New York) Mr. Giuliano has been appointed senior manager, Cap Gemini, New York. He had been partner, CSC. New York.

California patient care labor costs rise under staffing requirements.(Data Trends)
November 1, 2004... Early analysis of the impact of recently enacted staff-to-patient requirements in California indicates the state's hospitals are seeing significant increases in average hours worked per patient day and in average patient length of stay. Data...

Who owns this problems? The latest Wall Street Journal article on excessive hospital charges misses the point.(From The President)
November 1, 2004... Lucette Lagnado's article "Anatomy of a Hospital Bill," which appeared in the September 21, 2004, issue of The Wall Street Journal, emphasizes the amount of a hospital bill and other charges incurred by an uninsured "middle class" young couple....