Healthcare Financial Management articles from October 2007

Healthcare Financial Management archives from October 2007

Commission recommends overhauling disability determination and compensation systems for injured military members.(Military Health Care)
October 1, 2007... Citing the fact that just 40 percent of surveyed service members wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts fully understood the disability evaluation process, the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors...

Image nation.(NEWS WATCH)(imaging devices)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... IMAGE NATION: According to the September HealthLeaders Fact File, $100 billion worth of imaging exams are performed every year in the United States. And although high-tech imaging devices account for 60% of total costs--and 75% of medical...

Mental health providers in New Orleans area face soaring caseloads, burnout two years after Hurricane Katrina.(Mental Health)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... New research shows that four out of five mental health and addiction providers in New Orleans and Baton Rouge are seeing a marked increase in major depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction disorders two years...

References in the Medicare Claims Processing Manual (Pub 100-04) related to the May 23, 2007, mandatory date for entry of the national provider identifier (NPI) on claims have been deleted.(CMS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... ... References in the Medicare Claims Processing Manual (Pub 100-04) related to the May 23, 2007, mandatory date for entry of the national provider identifier (NPI) on claims have been deleted. Originally, all providers were required to use the...

Effective July 9, 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revised its national coverage determination (NCD) regarding routine costs in clinical trials to clarify that the item or service under investigation in a clinical trial, if covered outside the trial, is covered in the context of the trial.(CMS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... ... Effective July 9, 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revised its national coverage determination (NCD) regarding routine costs in clinical trials to clarify that the item or service under investigation in a clinical...

Just looking up information "for a friend," were we?(NEWS WATCH)(medical information )(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... JUST LOOKING UP INFORMATION "FOR A FRIEND," WERE WE? In 2003, 45.8% of respondents reported looking for health or medical information on the Internet for others; in 2005, that number jumped to 59.5%, according to a National Cancer Institute...

Section 413(a) of the Medicare Modernization Act requires Medicare to pay an additional 5 percent bonus to physicians rendering service in a designated physician scarcity area (PSA).(CMS)(Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... ... Section 413(a) of the Medicare Modernization Act requires Medicare to pay an additional 5 percent bonus to physicians rendering service in a designated physician scarcity area (PSA). Physician scarcity designations are based on the lowest...

"Healthy Indiana Plan" to go live in January.(State Watch)
October 1, 2007... Starting Jan. 1, 2008, Indiana's program for its uninsured residents, the Healthy Indiana Plan, will take effect. In May 2007, Indiana Coy. Mitch Daniels signed legislation to provide health insurance coverage for uninsured residents and reduce...

Aging is not for sissies--or the poor.(NEWS WATCH)(Medical Expenditure Panel Survey)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... AGING IS NOT FOR SISSIES--OR THE POOR: According to Commonwealth Fund analysis of the 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, the annual per capita total health expenditures for 2007 nearly doubled between the 30-49 age group ($3,233) and the...

By means of a final rule (Federal Register, Aug. 24, 2007), CMS established the Medicare Integrity Program and implements program integrity activities that are funded from the federal hospital insurance trust fund.(FEDERAL REGISTER)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... ... By means of a final rule (Federal Register, Aug. 24, 2007), CMS established the Medicare Integrity Program and implements program integrity activities that are funded from the federal hospital insurance trust fund. This final rule sets...

CMS has issued an interim final rule with comment period (Federal Register, Aug. 24, 2007) requiring hospitals that transfuse blood and blood components to prepare and follow written procedures for appropriate action when it is determined that blood and blood components the hospitals received and transfused are at increased risk for transmitting hepatitis C virus (HCV).(FEDERAL REGISTER)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... ... CMS has issued an interim final rule with comment period (Federal Register, Aug. 24, 2007) requiring hospitals that transfuse blood and blood components to prepare and follow written procedures for appropriate action when it is determined...

They're not called "donorcycles" for nothing.(NEWS WATCH)(Motorcycles)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... THEY'RE NOT CALLED "DONORCYCLES" FOR NOTHING: Motorcycles now account for more than 10% of highway deaths, partly because states are repealing helmet laws, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. In 2005, unhelmeted motorcyclists...

CMS has issued a proposed rule (Federal Register, Aug. 24, 2007) that would implement section 6083 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which provides states with additional state plan flexibility to establish a nonemergency medical transportation brokerage program.(FEDERAL REGISTER)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... ... CMS has issued a proposed rule (Federal Register, Aug. 24, 2007) that would implement section 6083 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which provides states with additional state plan flexibility to establish a nonemergency medical...

By means of a final rule with comment period (Federal Register, Aug. 22, 2007), CMS is revising the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment systems (IPPS) for operating and capital-related costs to implement changes arising from its continuing experience with these systems.(FEDERAL REGISTER)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Prospective payment systems (Medical care))(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... ... By means of a final rule with comment period (Federal Register, Aug. 22, 2007), CMS is revising the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment systems (IPPS) for operating and capital-related costs to implement changes arising from its...

(Not at) home health care.(NEWS WATCH)(medical care)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... (NOT AT) HOME HEALTH CARE: More than 1 million patients worldwide-including about 150,000 U.S. residents-spent a total of $60 billion to receive medical care in other countries, according to an article in the Houston Chronicle.

Number of uninsured rose to 47 million in 2006: Census Bureau.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The number of people in the United States without health insurance coverage rose from 44-8 million (15.3 percent) in 2005 to 47 million (15.8 percent) in 2006, according to a new report released Aug. 28. Particularly disturbing was the increase...

Expanding insurance to uninsured could narrow gaps for insured: study.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Expanding coverage to the 47 million Americans who now lack health insurance could greatly improve care for people who already are protected, according to a new study in the September-October issue of the journal Health Affairs. Researchers...

State insurance reforms have some negative consequences: report.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Health insurance)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Over the past decade, numerous states have launched "insurance reforms" with some significant and unexpectedly negative--albeit unintended--consequences, according to a new report. The study by Milliman, Inc. on behalf of America's Health...

CMS issues final rule prohibiting physician self-referral.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Aug. 28 issued final regulations prohibiting physicians from referring Medicare patients for certain items, services, and tests provided by businesses in which they or their immediate...

CMS announces payment changes for Medicare Home Health Services.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... CMS on Aug. 22 issued a final rule to refine and update the home health prospective payment system for CY08. The home health market basket increase for CY08 is 3 percent, which results in $430 million in additional payments to home health...

CMS issues guidance regarding reasonable crowd-out procedures.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... In a State Health Official letter issued Aug. 17, CMS released guidance to state Medicaid agencies clarifying the application of existing statutory and regulatory requirements in state requests to extend eligibility under the State Children's...

Hospitals to submit Medicare POA indicator as of January.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(present-on-admission )(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Effective Oct. 1, 2007, Medicare will begin to accept a present-on-admission (POA) indicator for every diagnosis on inpatient acute care hospital claims; however, providers must submit the POA on hospital claims beginning with discharges on or...

Timeless treasures.(Member Spotlight)
October 1, 2007... It is a passion that has taken Kovener and his wife across the country over the past 15 years, guided by a list of the works of one of the most influential architects in the world. Kovener, FHFMA, CAE, 1972-73 chairman of HFMA and founding...

Pig patients prompt protest.(Strange, but True)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... A program that allows surgical trainees to practice trauma repair techniques on anesthetized pigs drew the ire of animal rights activists, who protested the practice at a Hartford, Conn., hospital. Hartford Hospital is one of 13 sites...

Chocolate therapy.(ETCETERA)(Memorial Hospital)(Chocolate Cafe )
October 1, 2007... Memorial Hospital's Chocolate Cafe has doubled coffee shop profits--and provided a soothing getaway for patients, visitors, and staff. There is a place inside Memorial Hospital of South Bend, Ind., where patients, visitors, and staff are...

Overheard.(ETCETERA)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... "If Katrina happened tomorrow, I honestly don't believe we'd be better off." --Joe Dawsey, executive director of the Coastal Family Health Center, in a conversation published Aug. 29--the second anniversary of Katrina--on the Health...

FTC's ruling against Evanston-Highland Park merger deserves serious attention throughout hospital industry.(VIEWS)(Federal Trade Commission)
October 1, 2007... On Aug. 6, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its decision following an appeal by Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (ENH) of the Administrative Law Judge's (ALJ) October 2005 ruling that had ordered ENH to divest itself of...

Can financial managers improve clinical quality? When I started my career in healthcare finance, improving the quality of clinical care wasn't in my job description.(Make a Difference)(electronic health record)(healthcare financial managers)(Viewpoint essay)
October 1, 2007... But the longer I'm in this profession, the more I understand that by helping hospitals make smart investments in clinical resources, healthcare financial managers can actually help improve quality of care--and generate ROI. This story from...

The wait: a recent trip to the airport taught me a lesson in customer service.(FROM THE EDITOR)(Viewpoint essay)
October 1, 2007... I was escorting my younger brother, who is developmentally disabled, to the airport for his flight home from a visit. The process began smoothly. After a short wait in line, we got his boarding pass and my pass to accompany him to the gate....

Clarke named to 100 Most Powerful People list for sixth consecutive year.(HFMA NEWS)(Richard L. Clarke)(Healthcare Financial Management Association )(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HFMA President and CEO Richard L. Clarke, DHA, FHFMA, has been named to Modern Healthcare magazine's list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare for the sixth consecutive year. Clarke, who has led HFMA...

HFMA launches Patient Friendly Billing newsletter.(HFMA NEWS)(Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HFMA will provide strategies for improving financial communications with patients through its new Patient Friendly Billing newsletter, an electronic newsletter that is available to all HFMA members as a new member...

HFMA expresses concerns with IRS draft Form 990.(HFMA NEWS)(Internal Revenue Service)(Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... HFMA has 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...

The SCHIP debate raises fundamental questions: reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is one of the "must-do" pieces of legislation during the current congressional cycle.(EYE ON WASHINGTON)
October 1, 2007... SCHIP has had a known expiration date of Sept. 30, 2007, since its enactment in 1997. As of mid-September, the choices moving forward include either the Senate or the House bills passed in August, a compromise bill coming out of conference. or...

The electronic health record a digital divide?(TECHNOLOGY)
October 1, 2007... Electronic health record (EHR) adoption is growing. However, larger hospitals and physician groups have higher adoption percentages and rates of adoption increase than smaller hospitals and physician groups. An EHR digital divide exists-and is...

Value-based operation for healthcare organizations are you ready?(BUSINESS TRENDS)
October 1, 2007... The idea of value-based purchasing and supplier relations has caught on with a vengeance among third-party payers across the United States. It functions at different levels over different kinds of relationships, but all applications focus on...

Getting a charge out of emergency care.(REVENUE CYCLE)
October 1, 2007... Accurate charge capture in the emergency department (ED) can be challenging. The environment is often chaotic as many caregivers with different service perspectives--registration staff, nurses, physicians, interpreters, unit secretaries, social...

Nurses, consumer satisfaction, and pay for performance: when it comes to patient satisfaction, consumers are likely to choose one hospital over another based on the way patients are treated--especially by nurses.(Cover story)
October 1, 2007... The quality of care that nurses deliver to patients has always been important, but in the past, indifferent or sloppy nursing care wasn't public knowledge. Aunt Emma may have complained about her hospital stay to her neighbors or church group,...

The art of customer service: it takes more than a friendly presence for finance staff to provide excellent customer service. Here, healthcare providers and thought leaders share strategies for improving the consumer service skills of your finance department.(FEATURE STORY)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Three years ago, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center took a close look at its training program for finance employees and realized it was missing one critical element. UPMC's finance employees were well...

Coinsurance discounts: one possible solution to illogical pricing: hospital pricing has been in the public and governmental spotlight for the past several years. But realistic, root-cause solutions are hard to come by.(FEATURE STORY)
October 1, 2007... The illogic in hospital pricing has arisen from two decades of hospital cost shifting to cope with shortfalls in governmental payment and the financial impact of providing care to the uninsured, indigent, and no-pay patient population. One...

The growing imperative of effective pricing strategies and tools for not-for-profit hospitals: the time is right for not-for-profit hospitals to adopt a pricing strategy and leverage analytical tools that help to create value for consumers.(FEATURE STORY)
October 1, 2007... U.S. hospitals may be spending more than $25 billion annually to provide free health care (Acts of Charity: Charity Care Strategies for Hospitals in a Changing Landscape, PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute, May 2005). The...

Understanding the trade-offs of the Canadian health system: Canada spends less money on health care than the United States does. But should the United States embrace a single-payer system?(COMMENTARY)
October 1, 2007... Americans are increasingly asking why the United States is the only western industrialized country that has not managed to achieve universal healthcare coverage for all of its citizens. They also are wondering why we don't learn from our...

Hospital CRM: unexplored frontier of revenue growth? The rise of consumerism in health care makes this a good time for hospital senior financial leaders to give customer relationship management a serious second look.(customer relationship management )
October 1, 2007... Ask a hospital CFO what he or she thinks of customer relationship management (CRM), and there's a good chance you'll be met with a groan or a blank stare. CRM, sometimes referred to as patient relationship management, tends not to be a popular...

Blindside discounts: are you being underpaid for your noncontract claims? Unrecognized discounts on claims for patients who are outside of your contractual networks may be costing your hospital millions of dollars annually.(FEATURE STORY)
October 1, 2007... Many hospitals use contract modules in their revenue cycles to detect errors in which payers fail to pay contract claims properly. This approach works well for contract claims, which constitute about 90 percent of all claims. But a...

Switching horses midstream: monitoring the markets throughout a debt financing can create opportunities for long-term savings.(FEATURE STORY)
October 1, 2007... How can a small, rural hospital ensure it is accessing the most efficient capital when the markets--and the hospital--are in constant flux? One critical access hospital capitalized on a key strategy: Monitor the elements affecting the...

Time-based charging in the OR.(hfm TOOLBOX)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The complexities of hospital billing are compounded in the surgery areas, as each facility struggles with accurately aligning costs to charges while ensuring that the charges are understandable to both the patient and the patient care area....

The isolation factor: leadership, by definition, implies that there are followers. But often this is not the case.(LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT)
October 1, 2007... It is the role of leaders to paint a compelling picture that moves people to action for the good of the organization--harnessing energy and passion that produces results. So why is it that so many leaders are out of touch with their own...

Calendar.(Calendar)
October 1, 2007... NATIONAL EVENTS October 8-10 HFMA's Revenue Cycle Strategies HFMA s Revenue Cycle Strategies Conference will help you prepare Conference San Francisco for the impact of consumerism on ...

John Bigalke, FHFMA, CPA.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Bigalke, a partner with Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, Orlando, Fla., has been named U.S. health sciences and government leader for Deloitte, a new role in which he will oversee an industry group that encompasses life sciences companies, health...

Ronald P. Bryant, CPA.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Bryant has been appointed CFO, Goodall Hospital, Sanford, Maine. He had been CFO, Martha's Vineyard Hospital, Oak Bluffs, Mass. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Saul Colodny.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Colodny has joined Ormed Information Systems Ltd., Philpot, Ky., as vice president, professional services and marketing. He had been business office manager, Owensborough Medical Health System, Owensboro, Ky. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Jeffrey R. Gendreau, CPA.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Gendreau has been named partner, Virchow Krause & Company, LLP, Andover, Minn. Formerly, he was director, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Minneapolis. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Michael Grace.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Grace has joined Moss Adams LLP, Phoenix, as senior manager, health care/IT consulting group. Previously, he was manager, BearingPoint, Inc., Phoenix. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Alan Chapman.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Chapman has been named principal, ASPIRE Healthcare, Inc., Brentwood, Tenn. Formerly, he was CFO, Bon Secours Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Va.

Kristi Crenshaw.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Crenshaw has been named senior network account manager, United Healthcare, Tulsa, Okla. Previously, she was a contract analyst, Hillcrest Healthcare System (Arden Health Services), Tulsa.

Gabriela Guzman.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Guzman has been appointed director of neurodiagnostics, The Methodist Hospital, Houston. She had been director of outpatient access services, The Methodist Hospital.

Leon Kozlowski, FHFMA.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Koslowski has joined Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, Rego Park, N.Y., as reimbursement director. He had been director of financial planning, South Nassau Communities Hospital, Oceanside, N.Y.

Matthew Moman.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Moman has been named loan analyst, Capital Source, Brentwood, Tenn. Formerly, he was financial analyst, Medical Properties Trust. Birmingham, Ala.

Michael Ohlin.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Ohlin has been promoted from contract reimbursement specialist to director of managed care, Akron General Health System, Akron, Ohio.

Jane Moore, CTP.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Moore has been named vice president, senior treasury sales officer. National Bank of Arizona. Tucson. Formerly, she was vice president, treasury management officer. JPMorgan Chase. Tucson. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Tamie Osburn, CHFP.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Osburn has been promoted from consultant to senior consultant and education services coordinator, Gustafson + Associates. Grove. Okla. She is the current president of the Oklahoma Chapter of HFMA. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Jennifer Sheasgreen, FHFMA.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Sheasgreen has been appointed senior vice president, Marquette Healthcare Finance, Portland. Ore. She had been senior vice President, operations, Aequitas Capital Management, Lake Oswego. Ore. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Sally Raynard.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Raynard has been promoted from creditor manager to director, patient accounts, Chesapeake General Hospital. Chesapeake Regional Medical Center. Chesapeake, Va.

Linda Rose.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Rose has joined Johnston Memorial Hospital. Smithfield. N.C., as patient financial services director. Previously, she was business office director. Summit Medical Center, Van Buren. Ark.

Kim Sharif, CPAM.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Sharif has been appointed manager, managed care logging. HCA. Norcross. Ca. She had been supervisor of managed care, Holy Cross Hospital. Fort Lauderdale. Fla.

Jim Snyder, CPA.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Snyder has been named senior financial analyst. Filth Third Bank. Cincinnati. He had been internal operations consultant, Mercy Health Partners-Southwest Ohio, Cincinnati.

Leo Spreitzer.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Spreitzer has been named CEO. Receivable Recovery Partners, Indianapolis. Formerly, he was director of operations. Med-1 Solutions, Indianapolis.

Adrianne Tecza.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Tecza has been promoted from senior analyst. managed care, to professional services contract manager, managed care. Cooper Health System. Cherry Hill. N.J.

Jennifer Van Dyke.(PEOPLE)
October 1, 2007... Van Dyke has been appointed process improvement leader, Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Chicago. She had been manager. BearingPoint. Chicago.

Tracey Zimmer.(PEOPLE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Zimmer has been appointed accounts receivable manager. Medlink Georgia, Colbert. Ga. She had been accounting manager. St. Mary's Healthcare System, Athens. Ga. To have your professional announcement published in People. contact Dorothy...

CMS's new POA coding requirements present important payment implications.(DATA TRENDS)
October 1, 2007... With publication of the 2008 inpatient prospective payment final rule. the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began a well-publicized migration to a severity-based payment system. Less attention, however, has been given to CMS's...

China chronicles: it's Friday and I'm on my way back to the United States from China. The flight leaves at 4 p.m. and arrives at 3:50 p.m. on the same day--arriving before I leave. International flights are fascinating.(FROM THE PRESIDENT)
October 1, 2007... What is more fascinating is the People's Republic of China. The people (all 1.4 billion of them), culture, and unprecedented economic growth create a country full of contrasts, opportunities, and challenges--especially for its healthcare...