Healthcare Financial Management articles from September 2004

Healthcare Financial Management archives from September 2004

Inpatient 2005 PPS payments to increase by $5 billion.(Policy Watch)(Prospective payment systems)(Medicare FY05)
September 1, 2004... On August 2, CMS issued a final rule increasing Medicare FY05 hospital inpatient PPS payments by $5 billion more than 2004 projections, for a total of $105 billion. CMS projects the rule's changes will produce an average 5.8 percent...

Medicare physician payments to rise 1.5 percent in 2005.(Policy Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Physicians would receive a 1.5 percent increase in Medicare payments next year under a proposed rule posted to the CMS web site July 25. The 2005 increase would match the increase physicians received in 2004. This and other changes required by...

Inpatient rehab increase announced.(Policy Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Payment rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) will increase 3.1 percent for discharges occurring on or after October 1, according to a notice published in the July 30 Federal Register. CMS estimates that aggregate FY05 payments...

CMS announces increase in skilled nursing payment.(Policy Watch)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Rates for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) will increase by 2.8 percent in FY05, according to a July 30 Federal Register notice. CMS announced its decision to retain the current resource utilization group (RUG) classification system that...

... On July 21, President Bush signed the Project BioShield Act of 2004 (S. 15).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... On July 21, President Bush signed the Project BioShield Act of 2004 (S. 15), which authorizes medical countermeasure expenditures of $6 billion over the next 10 years. The funds will go toward the development and availability of drugs and...

... Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) experienced a decline in permanent debt delinquencies in the first quarter of 2004.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) experienced a decline in permanent debt delinquencies in the first quarter of 2004, from 12.54 to 10.9 percent, according to the latest financial and performance indicators released by the National Investment...

New rules propose medicare drug benefit options.(Policy Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... HHS has released two proposed rules outlining the prescription drug benefit options for Medicare beneficiaries. The rules implement major MMA provisions. One rule describes HHS's proposed structure for the prescription drug benefit under...

IRS gives employers greater flexibility to offer HSAs.(Policy Watch)(Internal Revenue Service)(Health savings accounts)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The IRS has issued guidance on health savings accounts (HSAs) that provides greater flexibility to employers to offer HSAs as part of their benefits packages. The IRS says that coverage under employee assistance programs (EAPs), disease...

FTC, DOJ recommend end of CON programs.(Policy Watch)(certificate of need)(Department of Justice)(Federal Trade Commission)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... States should reconsider whether certificate of need (CON) programs best serve their citizens' healthcare needs, according to a joint report released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ). The FTC and DO] stated...

Senate passes patient safety bill.(Policy Watch)(Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2004 (S. 720))(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... On July 22, the Senate passed the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2004 (S. 720), legislation that would create a mandatory system for reporting medical errors. The legislation is supported by the American Hospital Association. ...

State's public health initiatives address nutrition, obesity, and physical education: over the past three years, the media, food and beverage industry, public health advocates, and federal and state policymakers have devoted significant attention to the growing American obesity epidemic.(State Policy Watch)
September 1, 2004... This epidemic, especially among American youth, has emerged as a leading public health concern with high costs associated with treating overweight and obese individuals. Several recent studies contain troubling statistics. In 2001, the...

Sweat the small stuff: in the past, being a financial professional was considered to be a reputable, honorable career. The only accountant jokes highlighted what a dull, boring line of work it was thought to be (you know, "What's the definition of an outgoing accountant? One who looks at your shoes while talking to you!").(From The Chairman)(Column)
September 1, 2004... But with the events of AHERF, Enron, and Health South, I hesitate disclosing my profession as an accountant for fear of becoming the butt of a bad joke about doing jail time. Business ethics has become the topic of conversation at the water...

HHS launches decade of Health Information Technology initiatives.(Industry Watch)(Department of Health & Human Services)
September 1, 2004... HHS secretary Tommy Thompson on July 21 out lined a 10-year plan to implement a new health information infrastructure, including electronic health records (EHRs) and a network to link health records nationwide. At the same event, the...

Investment practices survey shows positive results with consistent asset allocation.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Despite the volatility in the equity markets, asset allocation to U.S. equities has remained consistent in 2003, within a 1 to 4 percent range of the 10-year means for all corporate accounts, according to the American Hospital Association's...

Growing liability crisis causes physician dissatisfaction.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Physician dissatisfaction, stemming from the medical liability crisis, may decrease quality of care and strain patient relationships, according to "Caring for Patients in a Malpractice Crisis: Physician Satisfaction and Quality of Care," a...

Financing the future reports explore future trends, core competencies.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Payment trends, local market dynamics, and physician and patient relationships will help shape the future of hospitals, according to How Are Hospitals Financing the Future? Where the Industry Will Go From Here, the sixth and final report in the...

Growth slows for healthcare employment costs.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The growth rate of compensation costs for health services fell 0.8 percent from March to June 2004, down from a growth rate of 1.3 percent in the previous quarter, according to Employment Cost Index data released by the Bureau of Labor...

Grants available for long term care pilot program.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... CMS is making available $25 million in grants for long term care facilities to establish pilot programs to evaluate the effectiveness of conducting background cheeks on prospective employees who will have direct access to patients. As a way to...

Health insurance becomes most costly benefit.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Employee health insurance edged out paid leave as the most expensive benefit for employers in the first quarter of 2004, according to a report from the Employment Policy Foundation. Health Insurance benefits accounted for 23.0 percent of...

Report: job loss, rising premiums take toll on employer health coverage.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... The proportion of Americans under the age of 65 with employer health coverage fell dramatically from 67 percent in 2001 to 63 percent in 2003, translating into almost 9 million fewer people with employer coverage after accounting for population...

Study: SCHIP enrollment drops in 2003.(Industry Watch)(State Children's Health Insurance Program)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Enrollment of children in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) declined during the second half of 2003 for the first time since enactment of SCHIP in 1997. Enrollment declines in 11 states and the District of Columbia countered...

Employers: no single solution to rising health costs.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Many employers doubt that high-deductible health coverage tied to employer-funded spending accounts--consumer driven health plans--can reduce their health costs, according to a study released July 22 by the Center for Studying Health System...

State to put cap on hospital expansion.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Maine Gov. John Baldacci has issued emergency rules that will set limits on the finances hospitals can devote to capital projects in the state over the next year, according to July 27 and August 6 press releases from the Maine Office of Health...

Quotes of note.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... "We're only going to provide [subsidies] to employers that pass it along to retirees. No windfalls." --CMS administrator Mark McClellan, defending the employer subsidies under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization...

Survey finds modest increases in physician compensation.(Industry Watch)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... In 2003, most physician specialties saw a modest increase in compensation, according to findings in the American Medical Group Association's 2004 Medical Group Compensation & Financial Survey. Median compensation and gross productivity for...

Fall Seminar Series kicks off.(HFMA News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... HFMA's Fall Seminar Series features revamped seminars with more tools and practical strategies than ever. The series will begin with conferences in Englewood, Colo., Sept. 27-30, and Cambridge, Mass., Oct. 11-14. Featured sessions include: ...

2003-04 hfm award winners announced.(HFMA News)
September 1, 2004... Each year, hfm recognizes authors who have demonstrated outstanding editorial achievement. Winners are selected by a panel of four leaders in the healthcare industry based on the writer's demonstration of technical quality, writing skill, and...

EMTALA guidelines clarified.(HFMA News)(Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... HFMA's Resource Center recently released Highlights: Revised EMTALA Interpretive Guidelines. This document discusses recent guidelines that clarify responsibilities of Medicare-participating hospitals under the Emergency Medical Treatment and...

HFMA hosts revenue cycle strategies conference.(HFMA News)(Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... HFMA is hosting Revenue Cycle Strategies, a national revenue cycle/patient financial services conference on Oct. 27-29 in Las Vegas. For more information and to register, go to www.hfma.org and click on education programs.

Labow receives PFS award.(HFMA News)(Greg Labow, PFS Forum Individual Achievement Award)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Greg Labow, FHFMA, president, Receivables Optimization, Inc., Long Beach, Calif., is the recipient of HFMA's 2003-04 PFS Forum Individual Achievement Award. The award recognizes HFMA Members who have made outstanding individual contributions to...

Region 7 hosts symposium.(HFMA News)(Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... This year's HFMA Region 7 Symposium will take place October 21 and 22 in Chicago. Sessions include: * Healthcare Access Essentials for Executives * Strategic Capital Planning and Prioritization * A Culture of Safety: Lessons...

Why stop at HIPAA? Getting back on the healthcare information highway.(Eye On Washington)(Association for Electronic Health Care Transactions)
September 1, 2004... Both President Bush and his Democratic challenger, Senator John Kerry, are looking at new breakthroughs in healthcare information technology (IT) as the next best thing for the industry--and more important politically, as a key to making the...

Cook County Hospital "from the 19th century straight to the 21st": Chicago is home to the nation's oldest public hospital, Cook County Hospital. Once considered Chicago's Ellis Island, the old hospital served countless immigrants, indigents, and uninsured for almost 90 years.(hfm Interview)(Company Profile)
September 1, 2004... But vines and cracks now invade the strong carvings of lions, cherubs, and humans in the 550-foot neoclassical facade of the shuttered hospital. Trash and debris swirl in the window wells and at the bases of the three-story Ionic columns....

Two numbers you need to know.(Managed Care)(reducing payment denials)
September 1, 2004... In 2000, reducing denials represented the largest revenue opportunity in the revenue cycle, according to the Health Care Advisory Board. Since then, much has been written about types of denials, strategies to reduce them, and resources required...

Stark realities for hospitals.(Medicare/Medicaid)
September 1, 2004... On March 26, 2004, CMS issued its long-awaited interim final rule that implements phase II of the physician referral prohibition statute (familiarly called the Stark law). The phase II regulations, which became effective July 26, 2004, are now...

How are hospitals financing the future? Where the industry will go from here.(Report 6: executive summary)(Healthcare Financial Management Association )
September 1, 2004... Financing the Future is a yearlong project to help hospitals take advantage of growth opportunities. Led by HFMA in partnership with GE Healthcare Financial Services, the project provides information, insights, strategies, and tools designed to...

Cultural transformation for revenue cycle improvement: for sustained change to occur, it has to come from the inside out and from the top down.(Cover Story)
September 1, 2004... "In a world in which new initiatives are greeted with skepticism, the easiest way to convince people that this time it's for real is to begin doing things that demonstrably signal that change is occurring and that put people in new places with...

Key revenue cycle metrics.(Toolbox)
September 1, 2004... DOES YOUR REVENUE CYCLE MEASURE UP? Revenue cycle management is at the heart of hospital and health system initiatives to increase profitability. To refine the revenue cycle, healthcare financial managers need new levels of analytical...

Endangered species? Not-for-profit hospitals face tax-exemption challenge: How can you maintain your organization's tax-exempt status? One way is to participate in the debate over how to measure charity care and community benefits.(Feature Story)(charity care)
September 1, 2004... The service you do for others is the rent you pay for the time you spend on earth. --Muhammad Ali In February 2004, the Illinois Department of Revenue revoked the tax-exempt status of Provena Covenant Medical Center, a...

More dollars and more smiles: done right, revenue-cycle enhancements can do more than put dollars on the bottom line. Many of the same enhancements can also improve customer satisfaction.(Feature Story)(patient friendly billing)
September 1, 2004... A customer-friendly revenue cycle can bring your hospital more dollars and more smiles. Although healthcare organizations track revenues, and most measure customer satisfaction, few measure customer satisfaction within the revenue cycle itself....

Freestanding heart hospitals: is the end near? Traditional hospitals that provide cardiac services now see a wealth of opportunities when they contemplate competition with freestanding heart hospitals.(Feature Story)
September 1, 2004... It's getting harder for cardiac specialty practices to go it alone. For a while, it looked like freestanding heart hospitals, many of which are owned and run by specialists with investment partners, were going to pose a serious threat to...

The end is in FASB's sights: new FASB statements clarify accounting practices for debt extinguishment, severance costs, and pension disclosure.(Feature Story)(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
September 1, 2004... The FASB recently issued three standards that focus on accounting treatments for various types of "endings": * Extinguishments of debt and capital leases (SFAS No. 145) * Employee termination and restructuring costs (SFAS No. 146) ...

Align process with mission and maintain a contented workforce: healthcare financial managers have felt steadily increasing pressures over the past decade to reduce costs.(Feature Story)(Steps to Successful Process Redesign)
September 1, 2004... A common quick fix for cost containment has been cutting "nonessential" staff and services. Although this approach may reduce targeted operating budgets, some unintended consequences with significant and long-lasting implications have also...

The road to better care: merging financial and clinical pathways.(hfma roundtable)(Panel Discussion)
September 1, 2004... About HFMA Roundtables With this article. HFMA continues a series of "virtual" discussions to offer thought leadership and practical perspectives on healthcare financial issues by leading industry professionals. This roundtable offers...

5 steps to creating a winning culture: superior performance is a product of the alignment of an organization's strategic intent and its culture.(Leadership And Management)
September 1, 2004... So just allowing a culture to evolve is not going to cut it. To engineer a culture that reflects the organization's vision and values, leaders should be specific about the behaviors they expect and relentless in the pursuit of those behaviors...

Marrying technology and process change for improved revenue management: during the managed care heyday of the 1990s, healthcare economists and futurists predicted that bargaining power would eventually shift back to healthcare providers.(Digital Perspectives)
September 1, 2004... Yet here we are in 2004, faced with high denial rates, long collection delays, and shrinking payment. Alas, futurists, like weather forecasters, have limited accountability for the accuracy of their predictions. Today, payers generally...

The case for customer loyalty.(New Revenue Growth)
September 1, 2004... How does customer loyalty grow? Through good customer experiences. Yet some organizations seem to genuinely fail to understand that they can keep or lose a customer in the proverbial blink of an eye. And in this era of increasing customer...

Resolving Patient Complaints: a Step-by-Step Guide to Effective Service Recovery, Second Edition.(book review)(Book Review)
September 1, 2004... Liz Osborne Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc. 256 pages; $79.95 www.jbpub.com The foundation of Resolving Patient Complaints: A Step-by-Step Guide to Effective Service Recovery, Second Edition, is that excellent customer service skills...

Calendar.(Calendar)
September 1, 2004... Fall 2004 Seminars Level Seminar 9/27-30 10/11-14 Englewood, Cambridge, CO MA Financial...

Lee Ann Burney, FHFMA, CPA (Tennessee Chapter).(People)(Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Certified public accountants)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Ms. Burney has been appointed manager, Horne CPA Group, Nashville, Tenn. She had been senior manager, Certus Corporation, Nashville.

Eric D. Pohjala, FHFMA (Northeast Ohio Chapter).(People)(Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Lima Memorial Hospital)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Mr. Pohjala has joined Lima Memorial Hospital, Lima, Ohio, as vice president, finance, and CFO. Formerly, he was vice president, finance, Medina General Hospital, Medina, Ohio.

Larry Singleton, FHFMA, CPA (Florida Chapter).(People)(Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Certified public accountants)(CTG Healthcare Solutions)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Mr. Singleton has been named management consultant, CTG Healthcare Solutions, Cincinnati. Previously, he was director, consulting and client services, Thomson Medstat, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Rodney Boula (Central New York Chapter).(People)(Elizabethtown Community Hospital)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Mr. Boula has been named administrator/CEO, Elizabethtown Community Hospital, Elizabethtown, N.Y. Previously, he was vice president, administration, Alice Hyde Medical Center, Malone, N.Y.

Kathi Val Martin (Virginia Chapter).(People)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Ms. Martin has been appointed congressional liaison officer, U.S. Army Surgeon General, Fredericksburg, Va. Formerly, she was CFO, Madigan Army Medical Center, Western Regional Medical Command, Tacoma, Wash.

Alison Arnott (Florida Chapter).(People)(Sibley Memorial Hospital)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Ms. Arnott has been appointed director of management engineering, Sibley Memorial Hospital, Washington, D.C. She had been director of decision support, Boca Raton Community Hospital, Boca Raton, Fla.

Nancy Bell (Appalachian Chapter of Central Pennsylvania).(People)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Ms. Bell has been named vice president, healthcare finance, Triad Strategies LLC, Harrisburg, Pa. Formerly, she was vice president, healthcare finance and insurance, The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg.

Donald Holt (Metropolitan Philadelphia Chapter).(People)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2004... Mr. Holt has joined Mercy Health System of Catholic Health East, Conshohocken, Pa., as manager of revenue and reimbursement. Previously, he was senior financial modeling specialist, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, D.C.

Spotlight on HFMA members.(Healthcare Financial Management Association)
September 1, 2004... My First "Date" with HFMA Last year's Chairman's theme--"HFMA: It's Personal"--is the best way to summarize my HFMA experience. This is not only because my fellow members of the Idaho Chapter of HFMA are close friends, but also because...

Plante & Moran: helping hospitals enhance their revenue.
September 1, 2004... One of the major challenges hospitals face today is managing the revenue cycle. It involves every department, every part of a hospital's operations, which is complicated by dealing with multiple payors, regulatory issues, increasing consumer...

Identifying the best revenue-recovery opportunities.(Data Trends)
September 1, 2004... Despite the intense focus of hospitals on eliminating underpayments and payment denials over the past few years, such revenue leaks continue to be a significant financial drain for these organizations. Data show that the nation's hospitals...

My favorite acronyms.(From The President)(financial communication)(patient friendly billing)
September 1, 2004... "Warning: Due to the size of the acronym list, you may experience a long delay if you choose to view All Letters." That cautionary note appears at the top of the acronym list on the CMS web site. The other day, an HFMA staff member started...