Healthcare Financial Management

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Articles in Feb, 2008 issue of Healthcare Financial Management

• What about the other 44 states
• Financing the Future III, report 4: healthcare construction trends and capital implications: highlight
• Emergency department waits increase nationwide, says study …
• Effective Jan. 1, 2008, all claims for the administration of Part B anti-anemia drugs other than ESAs used in the treatment of cancer that are not self-administered will require reporting
• Drug benefit fuels fastest growth in Medicare spending in 25 years: CMS
• Good data stewardship makes good cents: quality measurement and reporting are becoming the ticket to incentives, malpractice premium credits, telecommunications discounts, and many other forms of support for adopting electronic health records and other c
  by Margret Amatayakul
• CMS halts state bids to expand Medicaid eligibility
• The future of military health care: during 2007, I had the privilege of serving as the co-chair of a congressionally mandated task force on the future of military health care
  by Gail R. Wilensky
• Lynn A. Gipson, CPA
• … But fault isn't necessarily with misuse, says ACEP
• Percentage change in Medicare physician payment conversion factor: comparison of initial proposed change and final change
• Payer-provider connectivity: progress elusive but possible: HIPAA has failed to simplify claims processing. The current gridlock requires a new federal strategy
  by Jeff Goldsmith
• What's new on our web site
• Postacute strategic planning: preparing for an aging population: is your hospital prepared to offer patients high-quality, cost-effective postacute options? A postacute strategic plan can prepare your organization to serve an aging population
  by Donna J. Cameron
• $25 billion a year? Isn't that what internet shoppers spent this Christmas?
• ESAs administered for more than one of the indicated therapies are to be billed as separate line items
• IRS releases final 2008 Form 990
• Saying it isn't so: how documentation can decrease denials: since implementing a communication event management system in 2002, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has overturned more than $2 million in denials
  by Guille Cruze
• Morgan Award nominations due by Feb. 28
• Calendar
• Patrick Fields
• … CMS has addressed the need for an April 2008 update to the grouper and Medicare code editor due to the addition of new patient status discharge code 70
• … And understaffed
• Overheard
• Payment, politics, and the need for the leadership: it's early 2008, and I'm already sick of the 2008 presidential election campaign. And it will only get worse as state, county, and city candidates join the fray
  by Richard L. Clarke
• Policy options could save $1.5 trillion in health spending: report
• Building a new payment system
• Jerrie K. Weith, FHFMA
• Thomas S. Visotsky
• Overcrowded …
• Nothing saved for rainy days
• Mark McClellan, MD, PhD: addressing the quality challenge
• Most free drug samples go to the wealthy and insured, says study
• Automating claims management improves revenue cycle: web-based technology can help healthcare organizations manage claims and internal workflow processes more efficiently
  by Matthew Nivison
• Trends in hospital uncollectible revenues
• Americans believe covering all should be shared responsibility of employers, individuals, and government: survey
• Effective Jan. 1, 2008, all other claims for ESA administrations will also require the reporting of either the most recent hematocrit or hemoglobin reading
• Bush signs law to extend SCHIP
• Measuring the benefits of IT-enabled care transformation: when Banner Health implemented evidence-based practices of care at a new hospital, it incorporated healthcare IT—and saved $2.6 million
  by John Hensing
• Pew study finds states face $2.73 trillion bill for retiree benefits
• HFMA input recognized in new Form 990
• When participative management leads to garbled communication: are you clear and concise when you communicate with your employees?
  by Michael Nowicki
• Darrin Mikula, CHFP
• … Medicare regulation 42 CFR [section] 405.378 provides for the assessment of interest for Medicare overpayments and underpayments at the higher of the current value of funds rate or the private consumer rate as fixed by the Department of the Treas
• CMS will use the information to help determine the prevalence and severity of anemia associated with cancer therapy
• Financial burden of health care is increasing: study
• Trent Chastain
• Vermont adopts policy of not charging for "never events"
• How credit scores can make a difference for your revenue cycle
  by Garett Jackson
• Gary R. Moss, CPA
• The treatment of anemia in cancer patients includes the use of erythropoiesis stimulating agents such as recombinant erythropoietin and darbepoetin
• … By means of a correction notice of final rule with comment period , CMS corrects several technical and typographical errors in the final rule with comment period that appeared in the Nov. 27, 2007 Federal Register
• Effective use of business intelligence: leveraging your organization's business data could improve financial and operational performance—and quality of care
  by John Glaser
• Likeability: not long ago in politics, "the L word" meant "liberal." And for some it was an insult. Now it means "likeability," and it's all the rage
  by Robert Fromberg
• Tracking by weekday
  by Alan R. Davis
• Erich Koch, CHFP
• ICD-9-CM codes are now required to be updated twice a year, instead of a single update on Oct. 1 of each year, in recognition of new technology under the inpatient prospective payment system
• … CMS has published a proposed rule that would provide for an option for Medicare prescription drug plan sponsors to offer a separate prescription drug premium amount for low-income subsidy individuals subject to certain conditions
• A lesson in making a difference: beginning a new year provides us with an opportunity to reflect on our lives and think of opportunities that lie ahead
  by Mary Beth Briscoe
• A passion for public service
• Beyond bolt-ons: breakthroughs in revenue cycle information systems: next-generation revenue cycle information systems go well beyond niche functionality
  by David Hammer
• Chigger Bynum, CPA
• Thomas J. Morse
• There are no new ICD-9-CM diagnosis or procedure codes effective April 1, 2008
• … CMS has issued a final rule eliminating federal Medicaid payment for the costs of certain school-based administrative and transportation activities because the HHS Secretary has found that these activities are not necessary for the proper and eff
• Charging for ancillary items and services: 4 myths
  by Michael Lewis
• Restoring Fiscal Sanity 2007: The Health Spending Challenge
  by Walter J. Unger
• Why can't physicians interoperate? Barriers to adoption of EHRs: the goal of widespread adoption of interoperable electronic health records in the United States remains a mirage, despite new regulations designed to clear the way for such shared informati
  by Scott C. Withrow
• Jeffrey L. Perkins, CHFP, CIA, CPA