Revenue Cycle Management
The offical transition to the ICD-10 coding set takes place next October (or so we hope). Many providers have already spent a good deal of money preparing for the inevitable, but even so, you need to make certain that select ICD-10 costs are included in your 2015 budget.
Improving the health of at-risk, vulnerable and chronically sick populations remains a massive challenge for healthcare organizations' financial administrators. In order to properly manage complex populations, comprehensive and reliable data on patient health and demographics are required.
Significant inpatient pricing variation between hospitals in the state of Washington is "putting some consumers at financial risk," according to a recent study by the Washington Health Alliance. But the state's hospitals are questioning the report's conclusions, claiming that price variation should not be surprising.
More than ever before, physicians and managers are feeling the stress of running a practice. Though most medical schools do not teach business principles to physicians in residency, it is just as important to invest in education about the business side of medical practice as in the clinical aspects.
Physician practices have the lowest revenue growth in the healthcare industry. When every dollar counts, anything from a lost referral to a bad online review can impact profitability. Here are some common revenue leaks and tips on plugging them.
While reducing reliance on expensive inpatient care is a sensible goal for hospitals, the transition away from a bricks-and-mortar, fee-for-service model is creating tremendous pressures on chief financial officers.
Like many other industries, healthcare is looking to leverage information technology to transform financial payments and automate the posting of accounts payable and accounts receivable processing systems. But which method to choose?
With an improving fiscal climate, some states are paying their Medicaid providers more. More states are increasing fees to specialists, nursing homes and managed care organizations, but 31 states were cutting or freezing Medicaid hospital rates, compared to 19 that were increasing them.
Healthcare providers are realizing they must create and sustain a more effective revenue cycle to ensure long-term viability. To remain competitive, providers must closely evaluate the current state of their revenue cycle and implement improvement opportunities.
The 2015 Medicare Part A deductible -- for inpatient hospital, skilled nursing facility and home healthcare services -- will increase by $44 in calendar year 2015 to $1,260, while the monthly Part A premium will decline by $19. Medicare Part B monthly premiums and deductibles will remain unchanged.