HFMA strategy session highlights challenges and opportunities for healthcare finance leaders: payer relations, supply costs, AI and more
The legacy healthcare provider’s position in the industry could grow tenuous if leaders don’t respond boldly and strategically to ongoing trends, according to insights recently presented to HFMA leaders. “We’re at a crossroads right now,” Ashraf Shehata, principal and U.S. national sector leader for healthcare and life sciences with KPMG, said in November during a…
Measuring what matters to patients is key to hospital ROI
Despite the need to factor consumer behavior into health system business models, hospitals’ current operating model remains provider-centric, with performance metrics focused on transactions rather than the strength and durability of consumer relationships. At the same time, many organizations are hesitant to make investments in consumer-focused solutions for which the ROI is unclear. Through original…
New data on national healthcare spending highlights the constraints facing hospitals
Recently published 2022 data indicates relatively restrained national healthcare spending as the COVID-19 pandemic faded, especially in the hospital sector. The increase in spending on hospital services slowed from 4.5% in 2021 to 2.2% in 2022, CMS actuaries reported Dec. 13 in Health Affairs. The increase was significantly less than in 2020 (6.2%) and the…
House passes bill to codify healthcare price transparency, expand site-neutral payment
The hospital industry saw reason for both relief and disappointment this week after a bill designed to promote price transparency took a major step toward becoming law. The House on Dec. 11 passed H.R. 5378, also known as the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act, by a 320-71 vote. Along with cementing price transparency as the…
News Briefs: Medicare’s hospital outpatient payment rate for 2024 improves marginally from the proposed rule
The final rule setting Medicare’s 2024 payment rates and policies for hospital outpatient services and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) contained little to make hospitals optimistic about the government portion of their payer mix. Base payments for items and services furnished in hospital outpatient settings and ASCs will increase by 3.1% after factoring in the usual…
Deploying EPM in the cloud: 6 steps that drive value
Cloud-based enterprise performance management (EPM) offers tremendous potential for health systems, but the ability to drive value depends on a thoughtful approach that puts as little pressure as possible on existing resources, both technological and human.
RemitConnect® helps healthcare organizations automate manual posting and reconciliation processes
This HFMA Peer Review Spotlight explores the benefits of CommerceHealthcare's RemitConnect solution in complementing a healthcare organization's existing patient accounting or practice management system.
Moody’s sees potential positive RCM impact from AI
Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has joined other industry players in identifying ways artificial intelligence can create efficiencies in revenue cycle management. The growing use of the technology potentially could bring accounts receivable balances down and minimize write-offs of past-due balances, according to the three authors of a report published in the company’s “Healthcare Quarterly”…
Igniting revenue cycle’s superpower: Patient advocacy
Larami Oliver took over revenue cycle operations for Heart and Vascular Care in Cumming, Georgia, in the heat of the pandemic, and under her leadership, the division was able to persevere. Key to the operation’s success: a shift in focus from post-claim revenue cycle response to pre-service education and support. “We’ve taken a proactive approach…
With a new rule, CMS looks to crack down on states’ Medicaid disenrollment processes
In its latest effort to stem the ongoing wave of Medicaid disenrollments, CMS issued regulations describing its authority to penalize states for disregarding federal guidelines pertaining to the end of continuous-enrollment requirements. Published Dec. 6 in an interim final rule with comment period, the regulations took effect immediately and were based on provisions passed by…