Healthcare Financial Management articles from October 2006

Healthcare Financial Management archives from October 2006

Nearly 9 of 10 who seek individual market health insurance never buy a plan, says study.(The Uninsured)
October 1, 2006... A report released in September by The Commonwealth Fund finds that, as employers cope with rising healthcare costs by dropping health benefits or increasing employee cost- sharing through higher deductibles, workers and their families are being...

Does C stand for "costly"?(health care costs)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... DOES C STAND FOR "COSTLY"?: In 2003, the national cost for hospital stays involving C-section delivery totaled $15 billion-nearly half of the total $34 billion U.S. childbirth bill, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality....

Number of Medicaid patients in FQHCs jumps twice as fast as national numbers.(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Between 1999 and 2003, the number of Medicaid patients in federally qualified health centers grew twice as fast as the number of Medicaid beneficiaries nationally--51 percent versus 26 percent, according to the National Association of Community...

CMS.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
October 1, 2006... HFMA staff review CMS notices regularly for transmittals that affect healthcare financial managers, and post links to those transmittals on HFMA's web site. For links to these and other key transmittals, bookmark HFMA's Regulatory Updates...

IT's all that!(NEWS WATCH)(eHealth legislative bills)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... IT's ALL THAT!: Thirty-eight state legislatures introduced 121 bills during 2005 and 2006 that call for the use of health IT to improve patient care; 36 were passed and signed into law, according to an issue brief by the not-for-profit eHealth...

Not on a (en)roll.(workers enrolling health insurance)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... NOT ON A (EN)ROLL: Between 1996 and 2004, the percentage of eligible workers enrolled in health coverage at large firms fell to 80% from 87%, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported in August. The sharpest decline in enrollment...

Federal Register.(NEWS WATCH)
October 1, 2006... HFMA staff review the Federal Register daily for information that affects healthcare financial managers, and post links to the Federal Register on HFMA's Regulatory Updates (www.hfma.org/news/reg). ... The FY07 inpatient rehab facility...

These bugs aren't only nasty, they're expensive, too.(Staphylococcus aureus)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... THESE BUGS AREN'T ONLY NASTY, THEY'RE EXPENSIVE, TOO: Average hospital charges for patients with the virulent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. $87,990. For patients without such infections: $28,711. Data are from a research brief by...

Maine health agency wins court case.(State Watch)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... On Aug. 7, Cumberland County Superior Court Justice Roland Cole ruled in favor of Maine's Dirigo Health Agency on all three counts brought against it. Justice Cole's 11-page ruling confirms that Dirigo Health saved $43.7 million in the...

Skilled interpreters now required in New York state hospitals.(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Effective Sept. 13, New York now requires all hospitals to provide skilled translators to patients with limited English proficiency or disabilities. Although N.Y. hospitals already were required to provide interpreters, the wording of the new...

Add "instructor" to pharmacists' job description?(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... ADD "INSTRUCTOR" TO PHARMACISTS' JOB DESCRIPTION?: Of 804 pharmacists surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 85 percent said they have "a lot" or "some" responsibility to help their patients understand Medicare Part D.

2004-2005 sees rise in number of Americans without health insurance.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The number of Americans without health insurance coverage rose by 1.3 million (from 15.6 percent to 15.9 percent) from 2004 to 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau report Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States:...

McClellan to leave CMS post.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Mark McClellan resigned from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has resigned his post, the White House announced Sept. 5. No replacement has been named. In resigning, McClellan sent an e-mail message to his staff,...

CHA reports its members' near universal adoption of community benefit guidelines.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Catholic Health Association )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The Catholic Health Association has announced that its revised guidelines released in May for planning, measuring, and documenting community benefits have been formally accepted by 95 percent of its member health systems and 90 percent of the...

British P4P initiative pays a high cost for quality.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(pay-for-performance scheme)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The first results from the world's most ambitious healthcare pay-for-performance scheme, the United Kingdom's Quality and Outcomes Framework for general practitioners, found that performance by the general practitioners was far better than...

Health insurance improves low-income children's quality of life: study.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Providing low-income children with government-sponsored health insurance improves their quality of life as it expands their access to physicians and other health services, according to a BAND Corporation study. Researchers found that children...

Medicare Part B premiums increased 5.6%.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... CMS has announced that the standard Medicare Part B monthly premium will be $93.50 in 2007, an increase of 5.6 percent. This percentage increase is the smallest since 2001 and less than half the dollar increase in the premium for 2006.

WellPoint to make CDHPs available in every market.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... WellPoint, Inc., has announced that it will make its consumer-directed health plan products and services available in all states and to all markets beginning Jan. 1, 2007. Previously, WellPoint offered CDHPs only to national employers.

Following her heart.(Lisa Sorenson of Peace Corps)
October 1, 2006... Lisa Sorenson dreamed of a life in Africa. Now, she's a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya. In May, Lisa Sorenson did something extraordinary: She put aside her career, her home, and a comfortable lifestyle, packed a few bags, and moved to...

Lessons in leadership.(National Conference of State Legislatures )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... At the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Nashville, Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin shared the lessons in leadership she had learned writing her newest biography, Team of...

Decorated needles create less stress for patients.(Strange, but True)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Decorating needles with friendly designs, such as smiley faces, butterflies, and flowers, can make patients less fearful of needles and provide a better care experience, a recent study found. Researchers at the University of New Mexico's...

Is your purse making you sick?(bacterias)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... If you carry a purse, you could also be carrying thousands or even millions of bacteria that could make you sick, a University of Arizona microbiologist says. Microbiologist Chuck Gerba has made headlines with his research on the most...

How Sick Is Sick? Measuring Severity of Illness.(20 Years Ago in hfm)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2006... The cover article in the October 1986 issue of hfm, "Measuring Severity: How Sick Is Sick? How Well Is Well?," discussed the growing need to measure severity of illness of hospitalized patients. "Numerous studies have found that DRGs (and other...

Site seeing.(ETCETERA)
October 1, 2006... When was the last time you visited www.hfma.org? You could be missing out on some of the latest additions to HFMA's web site, including: Keynote Remarks: BluePrint for the Future. Scott Serota, the CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield...

Those were the days.(ETCETERA)(workers health)(Editorial)
October 1, 2006... For those of us old enough to remember the groundbreaking TV sitcom "All in the Family," the show opened with the stars (Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton) sitting at a piano, screeching out a tune that had something to do with "those were...

Overheard.(hospital payments)
October 1, 2006... "We are implementing the most important reforms in more than two decades in hospital payments, and important reforms in ambulatory surgery and many other types of care.... We are collaborating to move to paying for what we really want, and what...

Coaching a winning team: coaching a winning basketball team and running a hospital both require courage in leadership.(FROM THE CHAIRMAN)
October 1, 2006... "Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best that you are capable of becoming." --John R. Wooden John Wooden, UCLA's famed basketball coach, is universally...

Finding the time.(leadership)(Editorial)
October 1, 2006... He had recently returned from Switzerland, where he spent a couple of weeks and dropped off his son, who would be working there for a year. He told me he learned one thing from his time in Switzerland. "The people there have a very strong work...

Patch Adams, MD: healthcare activist.(hfm Q&A)(interview with Patch Adams)(Interview)
October 1, 2006... Patch Adams, MD, is a physician, performer, international speaker, social activist, and founder and director of the Gesundheit! Institute, Arlington, Va. The institute has provided free medical care to thousands of patients since it began in...

Clarke named to Top 100 Most Powerful Leaders in Healthcare list.(HFMA NEWS)(Richard L. Clarke appointed as a Top too Most Powerful Leaders in Healthcare)
October 1, 2006... HFMA President and CEO Richard L. Clarke, DHA, FHFMA, has been named to Modern Healthcare magazine's list of the Top too Most Powerful Leaders in Healthcare for the fifth consecutive year. Clarke, who has led HFMA since 1986, is one of only...

hfm honors winners of Best Article Awards.(HFMA NEWS)
October 1, 2006... Each year, hfm recognizes authors who have demonstrated outstanding editorial achievement with the Helen Yerger/L. Vann Seawell Best Article Award. Winners are selected by a panel of five leaders in the healthcare industry and are judged based...

HFMA releases updated textbook on hospital accounting.(HFMA NEWS)(Introduction to Hospital Accounting- Michael Nowicki)(Book review)
October 1, 2006... As a professor of health administration, Michael Nowicki, EdD, FHFMA, FACHE, faces a challenge: how to provide students interested in hospital accounting with up-to-date information and resources geared toward this field. Nowicki is the...

Clearing the way for transparency in health care: in August, during a stop in Minnesota, President Bush "went public" about transparency--urging that better information be made available to the public about the costs and quality of health care.(George W. Bush)
October 1, 2006... "I think the new trend in medicine is going to be to encourage transparency in pricing, as well as transparency in quality... How do we encourage consumerism?... Well, one thing you do is you make sure people understand their options, how...

'What's good today isn't going to be nearly enough tomorrow'.(Galen Dickinson of Cary Medical Center )(Interview)
October 1, 2006... In the most northeastern city in the United States--Caribou, Maine (population: 8,500)--is a small hospital with a big vision. A look at the list of its services would seem to tell the tale of a much larger hospital: birthing rooms,...

Bariatric surgery coverage decision opportunities and limitations.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services )
October 1, 2006... Bariatric surgery, once a little known and underinsured procedure, moved to center stage for Medicare beneficiaries and possibly other patients when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued its national coverage decision on Feb....

The myths of benchmarking healthcare IT spending.(TECHNOLOGY)
October 1, 2006... In the healthcare industry, one often hears this line of reasoning when it comes to budgeting for IT: Banks spend 8 percent to 10 percent of their operating budgets on IT. Health care spends 2 percent to 3 percent. Information ...

Picking up the pace accelerating your pricing competency: the secret to achieving an effective pricing strategy is to consider how to accelerate the development of your organization's pricing core competency while avoiding common potholes.(Cover story)
October 1, 2006... Until recently, hospitals have not had to manage prices as other industries have. Insured patients have generally been shielded from healthcare prices and rates. Price-based competition has been quite limited. And the notion of a community...

Developing a defensible pricing strategy: hospital pricing is a science, not an art.(FEATURE STORY)
October 1, 2006... Pricing strategies are as complex and varied as the hospitals that employ them. The science of developing a pricing strategy lies in determining how to meet a series of competing objectives: balancing budgets while remaining competitive,...

Pricing and paying for proactive care: the allure of cost savings from proactive health care has given rise to a new way of thinking about healthcare prices and payment.(FEATURE STORY)
October 1, 2006... For decades, hospital prices have been fictions. Prices hospitals have charged have had little relationship to the hospitals' costs and too often have seemed outrageous to patients, who may find themselves being charged many times more than...

Capacity management and patient throughput: putting this problem to bed: the financial impact from ineffective capacity management can be significant--but you can minimize your risk if you know what your options are.(FEATURE STORY)
October 1, 2006... One of the key issues facing hospitals today is knowing how to provide sufficient capacity to meet increasing volumes of patients while maintaining efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This issue is critical because as payment continues to...

Lean-Six Sigma: tools for rapid cycle cost reduction: have you ever conducted a "Manager Quality Waste Walk"? If not, read on.(FEATURE STORY)
October 1, 2006... Kim Repac, CFO, Western Maryland Health System in Cumberland, Md., gets it. After completing an executive orientation on Lean-Six Sigma by the American Society for Quality, she asked CEO Barry Ronan to assign the new initiative to her...

Beyond budgeting in an IDS: the Park Nicollet experience: is the traditional budgeting process worth all the time and effort that it requires? "There's a better way," was the conclusion of one large Midwestern integrated delivery system.(FEATURE STORY)
October 1, 2006... Traditional budgeting is a thing of the past for Park Nicollet Health Services. The large IDS, serving greater Minneapolis, recently underwent a management transformation in which it embraced the Lean thinking and practices exemplified by the...

Hospital call center build versus buy analysis tool.
October 1, 2006... The role of the hospital call center is evolving to meet the organization's financial needs. Most hospitals today consider their call center a necessary expense to manage physician referrals, class and event registration, health information...

A formula for success for women (and men!) in leadership: no one ever said the path to the top is easy. Why do some folks make it and others fail?
October 1, 2006... Two years ago, I decided to complete my Fellowship with the American College of Medical Practice Executives. I had intended to do so for many years and had completed all but the final requirement--write an original research paper. The paper sat...

Why women's health business development? Studies show that women are the primary healthcare decision makers in this country; 66 cents of every healthcare dollar is spent on or by women. The Department of Health and Human Services will spend $8.3 billion on women's health in 2006.(NEW REVENUE GROWTH)
October 1, 2006... Women's health is unique among the areas most commonly targeted by centers of excellence because it is defined principally by gender rather than by a particular health issue such as cancer or heart disease. Women's health spans nearly every...

Calendar.(Calendar)
October 1, 2006... NATIONAL October 8-10 Earn 14 CPEs, get ideas, and hear lessons Healthcare Accounting learned from leading accounting and finance and Financial professionals at this HFMA conference. Reporting Conference ...

Kara L. Carpenter (Minnesota Chapter).(PEOPLE)(Fairview Health Services)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Kara L. Carpenter (Minnesota Chapter) Ms. Carpenter has joined Fairview Health Services, Minneapolis, as system director, registration. Previously, she was revenue cycle manager, Allina Hospitals & Clinics, Minneapolis.

Lionel J. Montoya (Colorado Chapter).(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2006... Mr. Montoya has been appointed controller, Valley View Hospital, Glenwood Springs, Colo. He had been director of accounting, Southwest Health System, Cortez, Colo.

Dana A. Forgione, PhD, CPA (South Texas Chapter).(PEOPLE)(College of Business, University of Texas )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Dr. Forgione has been appointed Janey S. Briscoe Endowed Chair in the Business of Health, and professor of accounting, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio. Formerly, he was director of the School of Accounting, director of...

Kent Johnson, FHFMA (Northern California Chapter).(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2006... Mr. Johnson has been appointed CFO, administration department, Kern Medical Center, Bakersfield, Calif. He had been CFO, Tuolumne General Hospital, Sonora, Calif.

Jacob R. Lewis, FHFMA, CPA (Northern California Chapter).(PEOPLE)(St. Joseph's Hospital)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Mr. Lewis has been named CFO, Mark Twain St. Joseph's Hospital, San Andreas, Calif. Previously, he was CFO, Mendocino Coast Health Care District, Fort Bragg, Calif.

Nancy M. Borkowski, DBA, CPA, FACHE (Florida Chapter).(PEOPLE)(South University)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Dr. Borkowski has been appointed dean, academic affairs, South University, West Palm Beach, Fla. Formerly, she was professor, department of management, St. Thomas University, Miami Gardens, Fla.

Gary Curtis (Southern California Chapter).(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2006... Mr. Curtis has joined Cerner, Los Angeles, as solution architect. He had been business officer manager, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, Calif.

Karen Flint (Oregon Chapter).(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2006... Ms. Flint has been promoted from patient financial services manager to director of revenue and compliance, Columbia Memorial Hospital, Astoria, Ore.

Gregory J. Gallaway, CPA (Indiana Pressler Memorial Chapter).(PEOPLE)(Crowe, Chizek & Company, LLC)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Mr. Gallaway has joined the healthcare services group of Crowe, Chizek & Company, LLC, Indianapolis, as senior manager. He had been manager, health science advisory services, Ernst & Young, LLP, Indianapolis.

Maria Hallman (Florida Chapter).(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2006... Ms. Hallman has joined Cymetrix, Irving, Calif., as regional manager, southeast region. Previously, she was sales representative, southeast region, HCFS, Inc., Addison, Texas.

Nancy J. Huber, CPA (Northeast Ohio Chapter).(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2006... Ms. Huber has been named COO, Las Vegas Shared Services Organization for HCA, Las Vegas. Formerly, she was administrative director, operations, The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland.

Lynn E. McDaniel (Minnesota Chapter) .(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2006... Ms. McDaniel has been named loan team manager, Wells Fargo Bank, St. Paul, Minn. She had been relationship manager, Wells Fargo Bank.

Michael Mozola (Western Michigan Chapter).(PEOPLE)(Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Mr. Mozola has been promoted from business office manager to director of business affairs, Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital, Manistique, Mich. Mr. Mozola also serves as a board member for HFMA's Western Michigan Chapter.

Pedro Ramirez (Southern California Chapter).(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2006... Mr. Ramirez has been promoted from manager, contracts and operations, to director, contracts and operations, Providence Health System, Torrance, Calif.

Mary Sudicky, CPA (Indiana Pressler Memorial Chapter).(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2006... Ms. Sudicky has been promoted from controller to CFO, St. Mary Medical Center, Hobart, Ind.

David Yoder (Arizona Chapter).(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2006... Mr. Yoder has joined Maricopa Integrated Health System, Phoenix, as director of reimbursement. He had been manager, health science advisory services, Ernst & Young, LLP, Phoenix.

Healthcare Financial Management Association 2005-2006 annual report: bridging sound business practice with quality patient care.
October 1, 2006... TO OUR VALUED MEMBERS: 2005-06 was a historic year for HFMA--we celebrated 60 years of success. The healthcare industry has changed tremendously in the last six decades, but HFMA's commitment to industry advancement, expertise in...

Healthcare financial management association and affiliates.(Table)
October 1, 2006... HEALTHCARE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION AND AFFILIATES CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS Years ended May 31, 2006, and 2005 ASSETS 2006 2005 Current assets Cash and cash...

Consumerism and leadership: in June 2006, HFMA released Consumerism in Health Care, the latest report from the Patient Friendly Billing[R] project.(FROM THE PRESIDENT)
October 1, 2006... For the most part, the reaction by healthcare leaders has been very positive. The actions taken in response to the report's recommendations, however, appear to be developing very slowly. As I talk with healthcare leaders, especially CEOs...

Quality- and severity-based payment: will you receive what you earn?(hfma roundtale)
October 1, 2006... Pay-for-performance programs that call for healthcare providers to meet external quality metrics are being proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other payers in order to increase the value of dollars spent on health...