Healthcare Financial Management articles from November 2005

Healthcare Financial Management archives from November 2005

HFMA should applaud consumer-directed care.(LETTERS TO THE EDITOR)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2005... The recent comments of HFMA's president and CEO, Richard L. Clarke, in the September hfm magazine regarding consumer choice are cause for concern. His idea that we tan learn from China and the United Kingdom in customer service under universal...

CMS approves waivers for evacuee care.(POLICY WATCH)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved section 1115 waivers addressing the healthcare needs of Hurricane Katrina evacuees and the medical providers caring for them. Texas came first, with its waiver called the model for...

HIPAA guidance expanded for hurricane recovery.(POLICY WATCH)(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights has issued Katrina-related bulletin no. 2 regarding compliance and enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy rule during recovery from the...

Bookmark these links!(Healthcare Financial Management websites)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... For more on the stories marked with a [??], go to HFMA's web page, "New in the Federal Register" (requires membership), at www. hfma.org/members_ only/federal_ register.cfm. For more on the stories marked with a [mouse] followed by a date,...

Cooperative effort produces special "E" and "V" coding guidance for hurricane victims.(POLICY WATCH)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... A guide for diagnosis coding of healthcare services provided in the hurricane aftermath has been developed by the organizations responsible for the official ICD-9-CM coding guides (the American Hospital Association, American Health Information...

Modifier and condition codes for disaster-related claims announced.(POLICY WATCH)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... CMS has established a new modifier CR (catastrophe/disaster-related) and condition code DR (disaster relief) for providers to use on disaster-related claims. The new modifier and condition codes can be used by a provider submitting claims for a...

IRS clarifies relationship between excess benefits and exempt status.(POLICY WATCH)(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The IRS has issued a proposed rule, published in the Sept. 9 Federal Register, that would amend the regulations under the Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) to provide guidance on factors that the IRS will consider in determining whether a...

CMS seeks proposals for its five-year Medicare Health Care Quality Demonstration program.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... CMS seeks proposals for its five-year Medicare Health Care Quality Demonstration program. The project seeks to improve quality and increase efficiency among the major local and regional-level healthcare systems by modifying payment structures...

HHS has extended the expiration date for the interim final rule on civil money penalties for HIPAA violations.(Department of Health and Human Services)(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... HHS has extended the expiration date for the interim final rule on civil money penalties for HIPAA violations. The date changed from Sept. 16, 2005, to March 16, 2006, according to a notice published in the Sept. 14 Federal Register. The...

CMS proposes standards for electronic claims attachments.(POLICY WATCH)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... CMS published in the Sept. 23 Federal Register a proposed rule adopting a set of standards for electronic health claim attachments. The rule, mandated by HIPAA, adopts two new X12N transaction standards to be used: a Health Level Seven...

Inpatient rehabilitation facilities have seen their annualized caseload growth rate go from 4 percent over 2002 and 2003, to a negative 15.3 percent (for the first two quarters of 2005, annualized).(Federation of American Hospitals )(American Hospital Association)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Inpatient rehabilitation facilities have seen their annualized caseload growth rate go from 4 percent over 2002 and 2003, to a negative 15.3 percent (for the first two quarters of 2005, annualized), according to a study commissioned by the...

The current ambulatory surgical center payment rates and wage index values will remain in effect for FY06, CMS has announced.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The current ambulatory surgical center payment rates and wage index values will remain in effect for FY06, CMS has announced. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act delayed the implementation of new FYO6 wage index...

Location regulations could threaten many RHCs.(POLICY WATCH)(Rural Health Clinic)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The Office of Inspector General has found a pressing need for CMS to issue long-overdue regulations that would stipulate appropriate rural health center locations. In an August report, Status of the Rural Health Clinic Program, the OIG charged...

SEC extends Sarbanes-Oxley section 404 compliance dates.(POLICY WATCH)(Security and Exchange Commission)
November 1, 2005... The Security and Exchange Commission has voted to extend for an additional year the compliance dates regarding its internal control reporting requirements for companies that are not accelerated filers. Currently, a public company subject to the...

The perlexity of managing Medicaid drug costs: States face an ongoing quandary in finding the best way to rein in rising Medicaid prescription drug costs.(STATE POLICY WATCH)
November 1, 2005... Escalating costs of the Medicaid program have sparked a national debate at the state and federal levels. The federal government wants to shift more program costs onto the states, and states are unable to sustain the program's ever-increasing...

Moving to the next level: HFMA's Board of Directors recently tackled strategic planning and disaster planning.(FROM THE CHAIRMAN)(Healthcare Financial Management Association)
November 1, 2005... It is tradition each year for HFMA's Chairman to host a board meeting at a location of his or her choice. True to tradition, HFMA's Board of Directors gathered in my hometown, San Antonio, in August to discuss HFMA's strategic theme, "Moving to...

What's the difference? Does your organization have strategies or goals? Or both?(FROM THE EDITOR)(Editorial)
November 1, 2005... Not long ago, an expert in strategic planning told me that one problem he runs into is organizations that have goals but not strategies--or worse, they think that their goals are strategies. His comment stayed with me because it plays into...

Hospitals affected by Katrina should contact rating agencies.(INDUSTRY WATCH)
November 1, 2005... HFMA advises managers of hospitals affected by Hurricane Katrina to get in touch with the rating agencies about the hospitals' operational status as soon as possible to avoid miscommunications that could affect bond ratings. This...

JCAHO issues emergency planning guide.(INDUSTRY WATCH)(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has published a step-by-step guide, Standing Together: An Emergency Planning Guide for America's Communities, for small, rural, and suburban communities to both prepare for and...

New report shows troubled times in nation's emergency departments.(INDUSTRY WATCH)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... U.S. emergency departments are underfunded, overcrowded, and surfer from staffing challenges caused by rising costs of medical liability insurance, according to a report released Sept. 29 by the American College of Emergency Physicians. ...

RAND study finds advancing medical technology likely to greatly inflate future Medicare costs.(INDUSTRY WATCH)
November 1, 2005... New medical technology is likely to further inflate future Medicare costs, posing great financial risk to the program, according to a series of six RAND health reports published Sept. 26 online by the journal Health Affairs. Emerging...

Hurricane Katrina displaces 6,000 physicians.(INDUSTRY WATCH)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Nearly 6,000 active physicians in six Louisiana and four Mississippi counties or parishes have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina, making it the largest displacement of doctors in U.S. history, according to a new study conducted by the...

GE Healthcare to acquire IDX in $1.2 billion deal.(INDUSTRY WATCH)
November 1, 2005... GE Healthcare announced on Sept. 29 an agreement to acquire IDX Systems Corp., Burlington, Vt., for approximately $1.2 billion. The combination of IDX and GE Healthcare will create a major healthcare IT vendor, and GE Healthcare will grow by...

Web site helps caregivers access medication histories for hurricane evacuees.(INDUSTRY WATCH)(www.katrinahealth.org)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... A free online service for authorized health professionals to gain electronic access to prescription medication records for Hurricane Katrina evacuees was launched at the beginning of October. Information on the site, www.katrinahealth.org, was...

Biomedical research funding trends.(INDUSTRY WATCH)
November 1, 2005... Biomedical research funding increased from $37.1 billion in 1994 to $94.3 billion in 2003, according to a study of research spending published in the Sept. 21 Journal of the American Medical Association.

Groups at highest risk for major depression.(INDUSTRY WATCH)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... More than 13 percent of U.S. adults experience at least one episode of major depression at some rime during their lives, according to new findings from a National Institutes of Health survey. Middle-aged adults are at highest risk for the...

Class action status granted in patient lawsuit.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against a Seattle hospital, Virginia Mason Medical Center, have been given class action status by the Washington Superior Court. As reported in the BNA Class Action Litigation Report, the court said the claims "arise...

Quotes of note.(INDUSTRY WATCH)
November 1, 2005... "It is low-wage workers who are being hurt the most by the steady drip, drip, drip of coverage draining out of the employer-based health insurance system." --Kaiser Family Foundation president and CEO Drew Altman, noting the continuing...

Internal Control communications Auditing Standard proposed.(INDUSTRY WATCH)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has recently released an exposure draft of a planned auditing standard, Communication et Infernal Control Related Matters Noted in an Audit. The proposal is a rewritten version of a March...

Definition of supply expense paves way for national benchmarking tool.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... A newly created definition for healthcare supply expense will enable the Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management, with the support of HFMA, to prepare an important benchmarking tool for the entire industry. The...

Region 9 conference relocates due to Katrina.(HFMA NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The annual Region 9 conference will take place Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in The Woodlands, Texas, just north of Houston. Hurricane Katrina caused the change of venue. Conference highlights will include "A CFO Quartet," a panel that will share their...

HFMA issues financial management checklist for disaster recovery.(Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... HFMA has issued a checklist for disaster recovery that provides guidelines for the recovery of healthcare facilities' financial functions once a disaster situation is stabilized. Some of the immediate steps that financial managers must take...

Two Americas: many health systems: it took Hurricane Katrina to bring home to many Americans the vast gulf between the haves and the have-nots in this country.(EYE ON WASHINGTON)(Industry Overview)
November 1, 2005... Far too many Americans are simply one paycheck, one natural disaster, or one illness away from finding themselves and their families a part of the nation's underclass. And now, after the disaster, we have a clearer picture of exactly what that...

Financing the Future II, report 3: essentials of integrated strategic financial planning and capital allocation: executive summary.(hfma's financing the future)
November 1, 2005... HFMA's Financing the Future series began the process of highlighting strategies hospitals and other healthcare providers could use to improve access to capital. HFMA's Financing the Future II project continues this process. By providing...

Transformation and turnaround at Tenet: the new CFO's view.(interview with Robert S. Shapard Chief financial officer )(Interview)
November 1, 2005... On March 8, Robert S. Shapard, CPA, assumed the role of CFO at Tenet Health care Corp. in Dallas, the nation's second largest for-profit health care organization. He inherited multiple challenges in that role: Tenet's troubled recent history...

Exit strategies: planning for contract termination.(MANAGED CARE)
November 1, 2005... By their very nature, managed rare contracts carry a great deal of business risk, including the insurance risk that contracted rates may not cover costs; the financial risk of being paid late, or even underpaid; and the legal risk of being...

Managing trade-offs makes budgeting processes pay off.(chief financial officer management at health care industry)
November 1, 2005... As he shut down his computer to go home, Sam Smith, CFO at the community hospital, reflected on the just-completed budget process. He couldn't remember one that took so long and promoted such heated debates. Despite the newly implemented...

What's your game plan? Advice from the capital markets: do you want to know the most essential elements of your organization's strategy? Listen to what the rating agencies, bond insurers, and investors are saying.(Cover Story)
November 1, 2005... Strategy is critical to our current rating assessments because it encompasses all of the fundamental credit factors used in our analysis of not-for-profit healthcare entities--governance, medical staff, services and service area, competition,...

Dolls and dollars: new insight for revenue: how we buy dolls may give some insight into how we can generate new revenue for health care.(FEATURE STORY)
November 1, 2005... When I was growing up (and let's just say that was a while ago), purchases of many things were pretty simple. Take dolls, for example. Back then, we were in a manufacturing economy, and when a girl wanted a doll, she went with her more to the...

The perils of transparent pricing: the time for speculation is over: transparent pricing is becoming a reality for hospitals.(FEATURE STORY)
November 1, 2005... Two years ago, transparent pricing was the subject of speculation more than certainty. Recent events and emerging trends, however, have caused this phenomenon--in essence, the publication of a hospital's retail prices--to become more of an...

Strategic decision making it's time for healthcare organizations to get serious: "What's the use of running if you are not on the right road?".(FEATURE STORY)
November 1, 2005... So says a German proverb, and it's a question that healthcare organizations should be asking themselves. During the next two decades, they will confront a variety of new environmental and competitive demands requiring serious strategic...

Unlocking hospital gridlock: What happens when patients need to be admitted, but all the hospital's beds are full? Gridlock.(FEATURE STORY)
November 1, 2005... Full occupancy means hospitals have achieved ideal operating and financial status, right? Not necessarily. Patient flow gridlock can result, with intrafacility transfers delayed, emergency departments and trauma centers on divert, direct...

On the money: making forecasts what they should be: when was the last time you asked, or even thought about, how closely you hit the mark in your previous year's forecast of this year's performance?(FEATURE STORY)
November 1, 2005... Force without forecast is to little avail.--Proverb What does it take to make a good forecast? Forecasts, whether formal statistical extrapolations or simple "last year plus 5 percent" estimates, are essential for planning. They communicate...

The return of gainsharing: gainsharing appears to be enjoying a renaissance.(FEATURE STORY)
November 1, 2005... Properly crafted gainsharing arrangements encourage hospitals and physicians to collaborate in eliminating excessive hospital operating costs while maintaining or improving the quality of patient care. However, hospitals abandoned the practice...

Denials overturn analysis.(denials management)
November 1, 2005... The first rule of effective denials management is to thoroughly understand your denials portfolio. Such an understanding is impossible without overturn analysis based on the details of all three denial states: pending, won, and lost. Only with...

It's all in the planning: Dwight D. Eisenhower said, "The plan is useless; it's the planning that's important.".(LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT)
November 1, 2005... Because General Eisenhower was involved in planning an entire world war, it makes sense to read his words and find some meaning for your hospital's disaster planning process. What I learned from this quote is he knew that even with all the...

Are you using an EHR--really? Electronic health records can support patient care cost-effectively--but only if they're used as intended.(DIGITAL PERSPECTIVES)
November 1, 2005... The concept of electronic health records has been around for a while. When used as a fully integrated system, EHRs can support both patient care and the revenue cycle. But so far, their acceptance is slow in coming. A commonly accepted...

The flattened yield curve, and opportunities for hospital borrowers.(CAPITAL FINANCE)
November 1, 2005... In the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the nation's attention has been riveted on the powerful and dramatic social and political concerns stirred up by these disastrous events. But amid those concerns is a quieter issue that has caught the...

Calendar.(Calendar)
November 1, 2005... Fall 2005 Seminars Level Seminar Nov. 14-17 Dec. 5-8 Phoenix Chicago Financial Management I/A Achieving Breakthrough...

Steven Lee Boles, CHFP (Alabama Chapter).(certified human factors professional )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Mr. Boles has been named CFO, Shelby Baptist Medical Center, Alabaster, Ala. He had been CFO, Halifax Regional Medical Center, Roanoke Rapids, N.C.

Peter D. Gerondeau (Massachusetts Chapter).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Mr. Gerondeau has been promoted from senior vice present and CFO to senior vice president, finance and administration, Dimroek Community Health Center, Roxbury, Penn.

David Hammond, CHFP (First Illinois Chapter).(certified human factors professional)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Mr. Hammond has joined MD-X Solutions, Inc., Belvidere, Ill., as director of business development, Midwest region. He had been director, central region, Healthcare Management Solutions, in Belvidere.

Kevin J. Lang (Southern California Chapter).(appointment at Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Mr. Lang has joined Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center, Loma Linda, Calif., as executive vice president, finance and administration, and CFO. Previously, he was CFO, Kettering Medical Center Network, Kettering, Ohio.

Laurance J. Laux, FHFMA (Washington/Alaska Chapter).(gets appointment in Empire Health Services, Deaconess Medical Center, and Valley Hospital and Medical Center)(Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Mr. Laux has been named CFO, Empire Health Services, Deaconess Medical Center, and Valley Hospital and Medical Center, Spokane, Wash. Formerly, he was president, LWE, San Diego.

Elaine Matejka, CPA (Greater St. Louis Chapter).(appointed at BJC HealthCare)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Ms. Matejka has been appointed vice president, financial operations and analysis, BJC HealthCare, St. Louis. She had been CFO, North Region of BJC HealthCare.

Paula Newton (Great Lakes Chapter).(appointment at Covenant Healthcare Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Ms. Newton has joined Covenant HealthCare, Saginaw, Mich., as patient accounting manager. She had been PFS director, War Memorial Hospital, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

Robert C. Wilde (Southwestern Ohio Chapter).(appointment at Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Mr. Wilde has been appointed CFO, Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital, Ashland, Ky. Formerly, he was CFO, Deaconess Hospital, Cincinnati.

Linda Aranas (Southern California Chapter).(appointment at South Coast Medical Center)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Ms. Aranas has joined South Coast Medical Center, Laguna Beach, Calif., as senior accountant/ reimbursement specialist. She had been reimbursement specialist, Little Company of Mary Health Services, Torranee, Calif.

Beckly L. Jacobsen (Indiana Pressler Memorial Chapter).(appointment at The Heart Center of Indiana)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Ms. Jacobson has been promoted from process leader, financial management and reporting, to vice president, finance, The Heart Center of Indiana, Indianapolis.

Asher Kramer, FHFMA (Massachusetts Chapter).(appointment at Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center)(Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Mr. Kramer has been appointed executive director and CFO, Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Brighton, Mass. Previously, he was CFO, Martins Point Healthcare, Portland, Maine.

Per Schau (Metropolitan Philadelphia Chapter).(appointment at Arizona Oncology Associates)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Mr. Schau has been named state business director, Arizona Oncology Associates, Tucson, Ariz. Formerly, he was finance director, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia.

John Sella (Western Michigan Chapter).(appointment at Gerber Memorial Health Services)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Mr. Sella has joined Gerber Memorial Health Services, Freemont, Mich. He had been CFO, Jefferson Memorial Hospital, Ranson, W. Va.

Karen Singleton (Central Ohio Chapter).(Adena Regional Medical Center)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Ms. Singleton has been named patient financial services manager, Adena Regional Medical Center, Chillicothe, Ohio. Previously, she was business manager, Fayette County Memorial Hospital, Washington Court House, Ohio.

Kelly Martin-Sternat (New Hampshire/ Vermont Chapter).(appointed at UnitedHealthcare Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Ms. Martin-Sternat has been named senior network account manager, UnitedHealthcare, Inc., Westborough, Mass. Formerly, she was director, network operations, Health Connecticut, LLC, Wallingford, Conn.

Marc Proto, FHFMA: it's worth it to get involved in HFMA.(Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association)
November 1, 2005... "HFMA has done wonders for me, both professionally and personally," says Marc Proto, FHFMA, manager of revenue enhancement, St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island, an integrated, multihospital, 386-bed, healthcare delivery system in North...

Quarterly data show cost impact on operating revenue.
November 1, 2005... Quarterly information from 550 hospitals reflects the current distribution of operating costs as a percentage of net operating revenue. A review of median and mean expenses by major cost categories (labor, supplies, and other direct operating...

CFOs and the business of caring: why do you work in health care? When I ask healthcare CFOs this question, their answers are remarkably consistent. They do if for the patients.(Chief financial officers)
November 1, 2005... HFMA's chairman Richard Rodriguez emphasizes this idea with his theme The Business of Caring. This theme reminds financial managers of the reason for out work--ensuring financial resources are available to care for patients. Highly effective...