Category Archives: Uncategorized

AHA urges CMS to withdraw Medicaid DSH proposal

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http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/aha-urges-cms-to-withdraw-medicaid-dsh-proposal.html

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Click to access 160914-cl-medicaid-dsh.pdf

The American Hospital Association submitted a letter Tuesday to CMS, asking the agency to withdraw a proposed rule to include third-party payments when calculating the hospital-specific limitation on Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments.

In its proposal, CMS says the rule is simply a clarification on existing policy.

“Specifically, the rule would make clearer in the text of the regulation that uncompensated care costs include only those costs for Medicaid eligible individuals that remain after accounting for payments received by hospitals or on behalf of Medicaid eligible individuals, including Medicare and other third-party payments that compensate the hospitals for care furnished to such individuals,” the proposed rule states.

In the letter to CMS, the AHA argues the proposed rule is more than a clarification and actually establishes new policy. According to the AHA, CMS proposed the rule to avoid potentially unfavorable rulings in cases pending in federal court that address the DSH payment calculation.

20 financial benchmarks for hospital executives

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http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/20-financial-benchmarks-for-hospital-executives-091316.html

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Here are 20 benchmarks related to one of the most important day-to-day areas hospital executives oversee — finance.

Source: Moody’s Investors Service, “U.S. Not-for-Profit Hospital 2015 Medians” report, September 2016.

The medians are based on an analysis of audited 2015 financial statements for 340 freestanding hospitals, single-state health systems and multi-state health systems, representing 81 percent of all Moody’s rated healthcare entities. Children’s hospitals, hospitals for which five years of data are not available and certain specialty hospitals were not eligible for inclusion in the medians.

Senior finance executives name their top 10 RCM initiatives

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http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/senior-finance-executives-name-their-top-10-rcm-initiatives.html

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To optimize revenue cycle workflows, senior healthcare finance executives are more likely to implement updated IT and hire additional staff than contract with outside consulting services, according to a recent survey by Connance.

Connance, in conjunction with Porter Research, surveyed 93 senior finance executives in an 11-question online survey regarding their organizations’ revenue cycle improvement priorities. Respondents completed the questionnaire in July.

Below are six survey findings.

Ascension’s expansion efforts pay off as operating surplus swells to $753M

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http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/ascension-s-expansion-efforts-pay-off-as-operating-surplus-swells-to-753m.html

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Click to access ES819017-ES642670-.pdf

St. Louis-based Ascension reported $21.9 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2015, up 6.6 percent from revenue of $20.5 billion in the year prior, according to financial documents filed with bondholders.

The financial boost was partially attributable to an increase in patient volume due to Ascension’s expansion efforts in the past year. During the year ended June 30, 2016, Ascension acquired Glendale, Wis.-based Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare and added hospitals in Michigan and Tennessee as well.

Including these recently acquired facilities, the nonprofit system said inpatient admissions and inpatient surgeries increased 3.2 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively, as compared to the year prior. Ascension also said emergency room visits increased 3.7 percent year over year.

After accounting for a year-over-year increase in expenses of 6.1 percent, Ascension ended FY 2015 with an operating surplus of $753.2 million, up from $696.5 million in the year prior.

Medicare audits up 936% in last 5 years

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http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/medicare-audits-ups-936-in-last-five-years.html

OR Efficiencies

http://www.racmonitor.com/rac-enews/2150-medicare-audits-drg-downcoding-in-hospitals-algorithms-substituting-for-medical-judgment-part-i.html

This is how the presidential election is shaping the ongoing drug price debate

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This is how the presidential election is shaping the ongoing drug price debate

Change Capsule Pill Filled with Word on Balls

In this year’s presidential campaign, health care has taken a back seat. But one issue appears to be breaking through: the rising cost of prescription drugs.

The blockbuster drugs to treat hepatitis C as well as dramatic price increases on older drugs, most recently the EpiPen allergy treatment, have combined to put the issue back on the front burner.

Democrat Hillary Clinton just issued a lengthy proposal to address what her campaign calls “unjustified price hikes for long-available drugs.” That’s in addition to a broader proposal to address high drug prices the campaign put out last fall.
Republican Donald Trump, meanwhile, has said little about health care since announcing his candidacy in 2015, but he has several times called for a change in law to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the population it serves.

Here are five reasons why this issue is back — and why it is so difficult to solve.

Editor’s Corner: Geisinger’s new-school/old-school approach to retain, recruit staff

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http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/editor-s-corner-geisinger-s-new-and-old-school-approach-to-retain-recruit-staff?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal&mrkid=959610&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWlRGaU5HUXlNVEE0WlRoaSIsInQiOiJlZ3VzVW84VXRrZVQyZFhnQnZZZk1EN2s0cEQydG5GbU03bnRQT0FZS3orUllZT2FVTGo1S0Myc0FkK09cL2dXRWNzeFFUMkIrVWQzVE9qY2FvVTJrVDI2SjFWVDl5aGkwa01GZ2l3cjhDcmc9In0%3D

“You can give out bonuses, trinkets, t-shirts and keychains. But at the end of the day people want to be listened to and feel valued, respected and cared for by their colleagues and the leadership team.”

‘Bedless’ hospitals grow as industry moves toward outpatient care

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http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/bedless-hospitals-telehealth-grow-as-hospitals-move-toward-outpatient-care?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal&mrkid=959610&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWlRGaU5HUXlNVEE0WlRoaSIsInQiOiJlZ3VzVW84VXRrZVQyZFhnQnZZZk1EN2s0cEQydG5GbU03bnRQT0FZS3orUllZT2FVTGo1S0Myc0FkK09cL2dXRWNzeFFUMkIrVWQzVE9qY2FvVTJrVDI2SjFWVDl5aGkwa01GZ2l3cjhDcmc9In0%3D

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The changing nature of healthcare and patients’ desire for convenience have given rise to nontraditional care formats such as stand-alone emergency rooms and “micro-hospitals,” and now “bedless hospitals” are joining the push.

Such hospitals still have standard hospital features, including infusion suites, emergency rooms, helipads and operating areas, but no overnight space, according to STAT. For example, MetroHealth System recently opened a $48 million bedless facility in the Cleveland area. CEO Akram Boutros, M.D., said staff is expecting to serve around 3,000 patients during this first year.

“It reduces cost, and it reduces the risk of infection,” Boutros told the publication. “People go home to a less-risky environment, where they tend to get better faster.”