Healthcare lawyer Paul DeMuro takes new position with Nossaman LLP
HFMA members Paul DeMuro and Angie Swearingen have accepted new positions. HFMA remembers Gary Lampi and Milan “Doc” Barto, two former National Board members.
The pandemic isn’t the only reason for deferred care: Many transgender adults regularly forego care due to discrimination in healthcare settings
People defer care for many reasons. HFMA Chair Tammie Jackson shares how to make patients feel welcome and promote health equity, focusing on transgender adults.
Joe Fifer: Cost effectiveness of health: Why now?
HFMA President and CEO Joe Fifer addresses the urgency of making the shift toward cost effectiveness of health.
Paul Keckley: Improving nutrition in the U.S. starts with addressing the elephants in the room
Good nutrition remains elusive for many Americans because they face obstacles in being able to make healthy choices. These “elephants in the room” can only be addressed by policymakers, with the engagement of healthcare and other sectors of society.
6 ways to ease physicians’ burden from coding, documentation and risk adjustment
The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the need for U.S. health systems to gain physician cooperation in documenting and coding patient risk. Yet these organizations also should be mindful of the administrative burden many physicians feel from having to perform these processes, which has contributed to feelings of burnout among them. This article describes six steps hospitals and health systems can take to help ease the administrative burden for physicians, which is necessary to ensure the future quality and effectiveness of the nation’s healthcare system.
8 ways healthcare providers can smooth the DRG audit process
A health system’s financial sustainability depends on its being paid appropriately for the services it delivers. Yet routine payer audits can all too often result in downgrades of a health system’s billed diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), resulting in lower payment. It therefore behooves health systems to be well prepared for such audits and thoroughly understand why payers’ are most inclined to take such action.
Eric Jordahl: Preparing health system balance sheets for the journey to normalization
The Federal Reserve's recent signal that it will transition to a tighter monetary policy is an indication that the organization and the economy have entered a new, more stable stage.
Paul Keckley: The healthcare regulatory climate for 2022 — What to expect
Hospitals, physicians and long-term care and ancillary service providers can anticipate significant changes in the regulatory climate in 2022. Although such changes are predictable, context is key: Regulatory policymaking in healthcare in the current environment is limited by disfunctional gridlock in Congress, the fact that 2022 is a mid-term election year and a high level of public anxiety about the economy and healthcare.
News Briefs: Supreme Court ruling allows the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers to proceed
A roundup of top news stories for healthcare finance professionals.
Joe Fifer: Reflections on the pandemic, year 3, and its impact on healthcare’s frontline workers
HFMA President and CEO Joe Fifer shares a perspective on ways to acknowledge healthcare’s frontline workers as the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic begins.