Healthcare Financial Management articles from November 2007

Healthcare Financial Management archives from November 2007

Annual physical exams lead to high costs and potentially unnecessary testing, says University of Pittsburgh study.(Healthcare Spending)
November 1, 2007... While most patients and physicians believe it's important for adults to have an annual physical exam, there's growing debate about this conventional wisdom. A new study published in the Sept. 24 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine raises...

CMS has made corrections to the FY08 hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) final rule that appeared in the Aug. 22, 2007, Federal Register.(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... ... CMS has made corrections to the FY08 hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) final rule that appeared in the Aug. 22, 2007, Federal Register. CMS has also discovered that an inadvertent technical error was made in the...

CMS has issued instructions regarding the calculation of reasonable charges for payment of claims for splints, casts, dialysis supplies, dialysis equipment, and intraocular lenses furnished in CY08.(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... ... CMS has issued instructions regarding the calculation of reasonable charges for payment of claims for splints, casts, dialysis supplies, dialysis equipment, and intraocular lenses furnished in CY08. Payment on a reasonable charge basis is...

State budgets in transition, says report.(State Watch)(Report)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Although state year-end balances remain solid, states finished FYo7 with less money than they had a year ago, a new report by the National Conference of State Legislatures shows. State Budget & Tax Actions 2007: Preliminary Report is the...

CMS has updated the integrated outpatient code editor (I/OCE) for Oct. 1, 2007.(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... ... CMS has updated the integrated outpatient code editor (I/OCE) for Oct. 1, 2007. The I/OCE routes all institutional outpatient claims (which includes non-outpatient prospective payment system [OPPS] hospital claims) through a single...

Separate payment is now being made for contrast medium used in performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) services.(CMS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... ... Separate payment is now being made for contrast medium used in performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) services. Prior to Jan. 1, 2007, separate payment was not made for contrast media used in certain MRI procedures because the contrast...

Young adults targets of legislation to extend HealthCare coverage in 24 states.(State Watch)
November 1, 2007... Nearly half the increase in the U.S. uninsured population over the past five years is attributable to young people between the ages of 19 and 34, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In an attempt to directly address that...

CMS has enacted a final rule (Federal Register, Sept. 19, 2007) establishing a system of revisit user fees.(FEDERAL REGISTER)(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
November 1, 2007... ... CMS has enacted a final rule (Federal Register, Sept. 19, 2007) establishing a system of revisit user fees applicable to healthcare facilities that have been cited for deficiencies during initial certification, recertification, or...

In accordance with section 431 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. HHS has issued a final rule (Federal Register, Oct. 4, 2007) setting forth a safe harbor under the anti-kickback statute.(FEDERAL REGISTER)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... ... In accordance with section 431 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, HHS has issued a final rule (Federal Register, Oct. 4, 2007) setting forth a safe harbor under the anti-kickback statute to...

Additional payment per case for year one and year two to hospitals performing in the top 20 percent.(Statistical table)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Additional Payment per Case for Year One and Year Two to Hospitals Performing in the Top 20 Percent Year 1 payment Year 2 payment per case per case ...

Bush veto of SCHIP expansion sets stage for override battle.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... President Bush on Oct. 3 made good on his promise to veto legislation to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, drawing the ire of congressional Democrats and setting the stage for an override battle in the House. The House had...

8.7 percent increase in insurance premium rates projected for 2008.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... U.S. companies enjoyed a nine-year low in healthcare cost rate increases this year, but employers and employees should not expect to see that trend continue in 2008, according to Hewitt Associates, a global human resources services company. In...

HFMA expresses concerns with IRS draft redesigned Form 990.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... HFMA expressed concerns to the IRS with the agency's draft redesigned Form 990, used by tax-exempt organizations in reporting charity care. In a Sept. 14 letter to the IRS, HFMA asked that the form and instructions be revised to better capture...

Half of surveyed U.S. hospitals say they won't bill for "never events".(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Just over half (52 percent) of hospitals responding to the Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey, a national hospital quality rating tool, indicate they have adopted the Leapfrog Never Events policy, a list of actions they pledge to take...

Not-for-profit 2007 small hospital median ratios improve: S&P.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)
November 1, 2007... Small hospitals will likely demonstrate the same general rating stability as the overall not-for-profit healthcare sector through the remainder of 2007 and into 2008, with strong hospitals performing well and weaker hospitals experiencing...

CMS announces Medicare premiums, deductibles for 2008.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... The standard Medicare Part B monthly premium will be $96.40 in 2008, an increase of $2.90, or 3.1 percent, from the $93.50 Part B premium for 2007. The 2008 amount is the smallest percentage increase in the Part B premium since 200l. In 2008,...

Mission: medical assistance for Romanians.(Member Spotlight)
November 1, 2007... Last summer, David Williams and his teenage son journeyed to Romania to help those who have little or no access to health care. Williams, FHFMA, CPA, a member of HFMA's Mississippi Chapter, and his son, Wilson, traveled to Ploesti,...

Overheard.(ETCETERA)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... "One adverse health event is too many. Our highest priority is to eliminate preventable errors in healthcare delivery. Until that happens, patients can have confidence they will never have to pay |or care made necessary by an adverse event."...

Chicago-area hospital performs surgery on gorilla.(In the Spotlight)
November 1, 2007... She had to be shot with a tranquilizer dart before being laid upon a stretcher and taken to an operating room. There, staff in the OR witnessed something that had never before taken place: a 46-year-old gorilla undergoing surgery to treat a...

Move over, Tetris: Healthcare Video Games Make Debut.(From the Headlines)(Report)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... They may never achieve the popularity of "Halo" or iconic status of "Pat-Man," but one company believes health-related video games could help people improve their health--and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is putting money behind the...

What's new on our web site.(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... FY08 Inpatient PPS Final Rule Presentation. Go to "Resource Library," then "Reimbursement," then "Medicare," and click on the title of the document. Cost Report Changes to Improve the Accuracy of "Cost-Based" Weights. Go to...

Raid on the fisc.(VIEWS)
November 1, 2007... James G. Fouassier, Esq. Associate Administrator, Department of Managed Care Stony Brook University Hospital Stony Brook, N.Y. Is health care a basic human right, or is it a commodity, subject to all the vagaries and...

Making a difference beyond our borders: patients often perceive healthcare finance staff as gatekeepers--people who stand between patients and their health care.(MAKE A DIFFERENCE)
November 1, 2007... However, most healthcare financial managers I have ever met are dedicated to finding creative ways to make health care more accessible to patients. This devotion to getting people the care they need is not limited to our own communities....

Deborah C. Peel, MD: strengthen health information privacy.(hfm Q&A)(Interview)
November 1, 2007... When the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was enacted, Congress mandated that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) issue patient privacy protections. President Bush implemented the original HIPAA privacy rule in...

Strategy and imagination.(FROM THE EDITOR)
November 1, 2007... "I am often baffled about what 'skill' has to do with the precious little area of confusion when I do not know what I am going to say and then I find out what I am going to say." --William Stafford I was reminded of this quote by the...

HFMA abroad completes inaugural China visit.(HFMA NEWS)
November 1, 2007... What better way for HFMA to explore global healthcare opportunities than to reach out to one of the world's fastest-growing economies. A 63-member delegation that included president and CEO Richard L. Clarke, DHA, FHFMA, did just that,...

Industry leaders, health executives offer perspectives on payment principles.(HFMA NEWS)
November 1, 2007... Top industry leaders representing employers, insurers, government, and community groups met with healthcare financial executives from throughout the nation to examine issues related to payment as part of HFMA's Building a New Payment System...

The physician payment quandary.(EYE ON WASHINGTON)
November 1, 2007... Why should hospitals care about Medicare's payment to physicians, circa 2007? Duh! Hospitals had better care! After all, many consider physicians to be a hospital's true customers. But aside from that? Well, many also consider...

Financing the Future III, report 3: Managing Unfunded Liabilities: Will Your Hospital be Prepared? Excerpt.(hfma's financing the future)(Excerpt)
November 1, 2007... Since 2003, HFMA's Financing the Future project has given healthcare providers information they need to ensure their organizations have the resources necessary to deliver high-quality care for their communities. The project began with a series...

Launching a Medicare Advantage plan smart planning saves headaches.(MANAGED CARE)
November 1, 2007... Most payers readily admit that Medicare Advantage (MA) is alluring. It offers the potential for increased premiums and the opportunity to broaden membership. Likewise, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that may have let their...

Understanding the financial impact of MS-DRGs.(MEDICARE/MEDICAID)(diagnosis-related groups )
November 1, 2007... The changes to the Medicare inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS), announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Aug. 1, will redistribute payments among different types of inpatient cases. Overall payments are...

Highlights from HFMA's Healthcare Finance Outlook: 2008-13: a forecast exclusively for HFMA members.(SPECIAL SECTION)(Report)
November 1, 2007... No individual or group possesses a lens powerful enough to see the future of health care. Yet as healthcare financial executives know all too well, responsible leadership requires matching intelligent industry forecasts with financial and...

Competitive strategy a new era: is "competition" still a dirty word in your healthcare organization? Then it's time to get with the times.
November 1, 2007... When I first entered the healthcare field 35 years ago, planning focused mainly on fulfilling needs. Growth seemed almost unlimited, and most hospitals struggled to grow fast enough. Healthcare organizations were small and largely...

Financial planning for major initiatives a framework for success: is your organization considering embarking on a major strategic initiative? You will require reliable information--and a well-organized approach to obtain it.(FEATURE STORY)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Consider the following scenario: Facing a new competitive threat, your board wants to consider a major new initiative involving a joint venture with a physician group for a surgical specialty hospital. The initiative...

Joint ventures to pursue or not to pursue? The benefits of joint ventures can be significant, but joint venture opportunities should be evaluated carefully.(FEATURE STORY)
November 1, 2007... Joint ventures among not-for-profit hospitals, physicians, and for-profit entities are proliferating nationwide. These ventures represent one option among a range of partnering options. When developed prudently, joint ventures can enable...

Politics and a pragmatic paradigm for health reform: as health reform surges to the front of the policy agenda, I am feeling deja vu.(COMMENTARY)
November 1, 2007... In 1991, the political landscape was changed by a teacher from Pennsylvania who ran--and won--by saying, if every prisoner has a lawyer, every American should have a doctor. I remember being one of the sitting senators who made presentations to...

IT strategic planning: what healthcare CFOs should know: IT alone may not solve today's healthcare problems, but those problems can't be solved without robust IT-enabled capabilities.(FEATURE STORY)
November 1, 2007... Strategic planning for healthcare IT is critical to ensuring that operating capital for IT-related investments is spent appropriately and in accordance with strategic priorities. It is very important to involve healthcare financial as well as...

Mergers and acquisitions: a most strategic decision: whether your organization is seeking to merge or acquire, start with the end in mind--and know what the deal killers are.(FEATURE STORY)
November 1, 2007... As health system mergers and acquisitions (M&A) proliferate in the United States, the complexity of these transactions requires that buyers and sellers stay abreast of important nuances and the latest trends to ensure that these strategic and...

Defending A+: how to maintain a high credit rating during a facilities overhaul: during a major construction and renovation initiative, New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C., mounted a successful effort to defend its A+ credit rating by addressing issues important to credit rating agencies.(FEATURE STORY)
November 1, 2007... For hospitals and health systems, undertaking a major bond-financed expansion or renovation project spells risk to the credit reviewing agencies. These projects add debt to the balance sheet, disrupt short-term operations, and occasionally,...

From hub to MOB: a strategy to extend your hospital's reach: medical office buildings (MOBs) are valuable tools that support the growth and development of healthcare systems.(FEATURE STORY)
November 1, 2007... Hospitals that decide to develop a medical office building (MOB) should never discount the significance of such a project. A MOB development project is an important strategic initiative for a hospital, with broad implications. The goal,...

Dedicated project leadership: helping organizations meet strategic goals: today's complex healthcare marketplace requires dedicated project leaders--and teamwork--to ensure successful outcomes for critical strategic initiatives.(FEATURE STORY)
November 1, 2007... A strategic project is like a symphony. It needs a skilled project leader, who, like a conductor, has vision and the ability to bring the work to a successful conclusion. The rewards of effective project leadership in health care have grown...

Monthly incentive reports.(hfm TOOLBOX)(Report)
November 1, 2007... Incentives are offered to patient accounting staff at Mary Rutan Hospital, Bellefontaine, Ohio, for meeting accounts receivable (A/R) goals. The staff receives monthly incentive reports that show progress on the department incentives for their...

Establishing financing options for self-pay patients.(hfma roundtable)
November 1, 2007... Transactions with self-pay patients are taking on greater importance to hospitals' revenue cycles as a result of the growing number of uninsured and increasing popularity of consumer-directed health plans with high deductibles. As such,...

Leadership or followership: one or both? All successful leaders need good followers.(LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT)(Viewpoint essay)
November 1, 2007... "In order to be a leader, a man must have followers: --Dwight D. Eisenhower "Leadership involves finding a parade and getting in front of it." --John Naisbitt No matter how high a position we hold in an organization, we all...

Do you plan not to achieve your EHR ROI? In conducting an ROI analysis for an electronic health record (EHR), conventional wisdom suggests estimating costs liberally and benefits conservatively. This may be good advice from a theoretical perspective, but in doing so, you may be setting yourself up to go over budget.(INSIDE IT)
November 1, 2007... The Medical Group Management Association suggests that, on average, physician offices are 30 percent over budget in their EHR expenditures. No similar statistics appear to be available for hospitals. Why might the suggestion above ring true...

Taking stock in the wake of a rogue wave: what does it take to shake our unhealthy confidence in mathematical formulae and "scientific hard data"? Ask a securities analyst and an oceanographer and they will give you identical responses: reality. Hard, numbers-be-damned reality.(CAPITAL FINANCE)
November 1, 2007... In mid-August, one quantitative securities analyst wailed about the previous week's market chaos, "Wednesday is the type of day people will remember in quant-land for a very long time... Events that models only predicted would happen once in...

Calendar.(Calendar)
November 1, 2007... NATIONAL EVENTS November 5-8 and 27-30, and Dec. 3-6 HFMA's Fall Seminars Orlando (Nov. 5-8), San Antonio (Nov. 27-30), and Chicago (Dec. 3-6) Seminars will cover financial management, revenue cycle improvement, consumer-focused...

Jeff D. Benton.(PEOPLE)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Benton has joined Grant Thornton, LLP, Recovery & Reorganization, McLean, Va., as partner. He had been managing director, FTI Consulting, Washington, D.C.

Michael King, FHFMA.(PEOPLE)(Rockingham Memorial Hospital to appoint Michael King)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] King has been appointed senior vice president of finance and CFO, Rockingham Memorial Hospital, Harrisonburg, Va. Previously, he was CFO, Jupiter Medical Center, Jupiter, Fla.

Tim Prestridge.(PEOPLE)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Prestridge has been named CFO, Alleghany Regional Hospital, Low Moor, Va. Previously, he was CFO, Polk Medical Center, Cedartown, Ga.

Jason Hill.(PEOPLE)(Healthcare Finance Group Inc. to appoint Jason Hill)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Hill has been named vice president, marketing officer, Marquette Healthcare Finance, Long Beach, Calif. He had been business development officer, Healthcare Finance Group, Inc., Los Angeles.

Chuck Martin, CPA.(PEOPLE)
November 1, 2007... Martin has been appointed manager, provider audit, Blue Cross Blue Shield--Wellpoint, Atlanta. Formerly, he was director, AIM Healthcare, Inc., Franklin, Tenn.

Staci L. Meredith.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Meredith has joined Catholic Health Initiatives, Nampa, Idaho, as regional director, revenue cycle management. Previously, she was director of patient financial services, Mercy Medical Center, Nampa.

Beth O'Toole.(PEOPLE)
November 1, 2007... O'Toole was promoted from director of patient financial services to senior director of revenue cycle management, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston.

Jose Quesada, MD.(PEOPLE)(University of Miami to appoint Jose Quesada)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Quesada has been appointed director of finance and human resources, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, International Medicine Institute, Miami. Formerly, he was financial manager, revenue cycle management, National Healing...

Maria Reyes-Tabliago.(PEOPLE)(Tufts-New England Medical Center to appoint Maria Reyes-Tabliago)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Reyes-Tabliago has joined Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, as HIM consultant, medical records department. She had been a senior revenue analyst, North Shore Medical Center, Salem, Mass.

Alfredo Vera.(PEOPLE)
November 1, 2007... Vera was promoted from senior financial analyst, Valley Baptist Health System, Harlingen, Texas, to director of finance, Valley Baptist Medical Center, Brownsville, Texas.

The emergency department as admission source.(DATA TRENDS)
November 1, 2007... The emergency department is becoming the dominant source of hospital inpatient admissions--especially for medical service patients. Nationally, for the key medical service lines, seven out of 10 admissions start in the ED. This dynamic will...

Physician integration: do these phrases sound familiar? Purchasing physician practices. Hospital and physician integration and consolidation. Physician practice management. Didn't we go through this before? Is this deja vu all over again?(FROM THE PRESIDENT)
November 1, 2007... Well, yes and no. The idea of creating a more integrated delivery model though employment of physicians or acquisition of their practices is not new. Many health systems attempted this strategy during the mid-1990s. But many of these efforts...