Astria Health, a three-hospital health system based in Sunnyside, Wash., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 6.
Astria plans to use the bankruptcy process to restructure its finances, enter into a plan of reorganization with its creditors and replace its billing company, according to TV station KIMA.
In a press release issued May 6, the health system said it is facing a significant shortfall in cash flow due to issues with the company it contracted with to manage its billing in August 2018. Astria said the unidentified company failed to process a significant number of accounts receivable, leading to a backlog of unpaid claims, according to the Yakima Herald-Republic.
“Although hospital leadership has actively managed the supply chain to ensure necessary supplies for patient care, this delay in cash collections has now become severe enough to potentially disrupt the organization’s ability to pay for crucial items in a timely matter,” Astria Health wrote in its news release, according to the Yakima Herald-Republic.
Astria said it has secured debtor in possession financing and the bankruptcy filing will not affect operations at its hospitals or clinics. They will remain open as the health system moves through the bankruptcy process.
“As one of the largest healthcare providers and employers in the Yakima Valley, we believe this step was necessary in order to protect the Valley’s hospitals and its local economies,” Astria Health President CEO John Gallagher told KIMA. “We believe it will protect and sustain the three hospitals for the future.”
Astria aims to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of 2019.
Health systems preferred Optum360 for end-to-end healthcare revenue cycle management software and outsourcing, while physician practices favored Waystar.
– The eighth annual revenue cycle management technology and outsourcing solutions survey from Black Book recently uncovered the top client-rated healthcare revenue cycle management vendors for health systems, hospitals, and physician practices.
The market research company polled nearly 4,500 hospital and health system CFOs, VPs of Finance and Revenue Cycle Management (RCM), Controllers, Business Officer Managers, and other financial staff. Another 3,660 physician office business managers and 941 staff from outpatient, alternative care, clinics, IDN physician practices, and ancillary facilities also participated in the 2018 ratings.
The survey showed that providers are investing in healthcare revenue cycle management solutions as health system margins shrink to less than three percent nationwide and providers in all settings transition away from fee-for-service.
“The latest wave of challenges accompanying the shift to value-based care find most providers navigating through empowering virtual health, initiating highly patient positive experiences and sinking margins,” stated Black Book’s Managing Partner Doug Brown. “Revenue cycle management is now the most pressing strategic focus in health systems nationwide with system transformation vendors, solutions optimization consultants and RCM outsourcing firms in huge demand.”
Based on 18 indicators of client experience, loyalty, and customer satisfaction, the survey revealed the top-rated RCM solutions for various parts across the entire healthcare revenue cycle.
In terms of end-to-end revenue cycle management software, health systems and large hospital chains preferred Optum360, followed by Waystar, Change Healthcare, Recondo, and Conifer.
Health systems named Optum360 as their top end-to-end revenue cycle management software solution for the second year in a row.
Waystar and Optum360 also took top spots for hospitals with 101 to 200 beds, while small hospitals favored the RCM software from Trubridge and large hospitals ranked Change Healthcare as number one.
Physician practices and groups rated Waystar as their top RCM software vendor, followed by Change Healthcare, Allscripts, Cerner RevWorks, and athenaCollect.
Optum360 was also the highest ranked revenue cycle management outsourcing solution for health systems and large hospital chains shifting their financial and business functions outside of their organizations.
However, top revenue cycle outsourcing solutions was a mixed bag for standalone hospitals and physician practices.
Small hospitals identified Trubridge as their top outsourcing solution, while medium-sized hospitals preferred Gebbs and large hospitals liked Cognizant Trizetto.
R1 RCM was the highest rated end-to-end RCM outsourcing solution among physician practices and groups.
Additionally, the survey found the highest ranked vendors for other parts of the healthcare revenue cycle, including patient payments, provider contract management, and claims and denials management. Notable rankings included:
Patient payment solutions: InstaMed
Complex claims solutions: Cognizant Bolder
Patient access solutions: Recondo Technology
Hospital claims and denials management: Experian Health
RCM optimization consultants: Hayes Management Consulting
RCM business intelligence and decision support: Dimension Insight
Provider organizations of all sizes are seeking healthcare revenue cycle management solutions to optimize all parts of their financial and business processes.
Revenue cycle management optimization was a top priority for hospitals, according to a September 2017 Black Book survey. Almost three-quarters of struggling hospitals prioritized revenue cycle management over other initiatives key to the value-based reimbursement transition, including population health, data analytics, and patient engagement.
The hospital and physician practice leaders surveyed said they planned to allocate 2018 capital resources for revenue cycle management upgrades, including dashboards, data analytics, and business intelligence solutions.
Revenue cycle management optimization investments are likely to continue well into the near future as provider organizations face more competition, greater patient financial responsibility, and a shifting healthcare environment.
“Healthcare providers will have no choice but to evaluate and optimize their solutions end-to-end in a future state that leverages analytics and enhanced connectivity with payers, all keeping pace with the advances in healthcare technology,” Black Book’s Brown stated in 2017.
HENRY KOTULA 