Recently added articles from Healthcare Financial Management:
Ratings agencies monitor impacts and risk of economic downturn.(Credit Ratings)
Mar 01, 2009 ... In a series of recent reports, the three major credit ratings agencies--Fitch, Moody's, and Standard & Poor's--have maintained negative outlooks for the not-for-profit healthcare sector, while identifying new issues emerging from the economic downturn. In its 2009 Nonprofit ...
Don't forget the souvenirs.(NEWS WATCH)(medical tourism)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... * DON'T FORGET THE SOUVENIRS: The current value of the annual medical tourism market ...
SCHIP reauthorized and expanded.(SCHIP)(State Children's Health Insurance Program)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... In a move seen as a first step toward healthcare reform under the new Obama administration, Congress passed legislation reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The legislation also expanded the program's funding to reach an estimated 4.1 million children in ...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized three national coverage determinations (NCDs) on preventable surgical "never events" including performing the wrong surgery on a patient, performing surgery on the wrong body part, and performing surgery on the wrong patient.(CMS)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized three national coverage determinations (NCDs) on preventable surgical "never events" including performing the wrong surgery on a patient, performing surgery on the wrong body part, and performing surgery on the wrong patient ....
CMS has issued a final decision memorandum regarding the use of bariatric (weight reduction) surgery as a treatment for certain Medicare beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes.(CMS)(Report)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... CMS has issued a final decision memorandum regarding the use of bariatric (weight reduction) surgery as a treatment for certain Medicare beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes. CMS will consider type 2 diabetes as a comorbidity in deciding whether ...
Recent CMS transmittals of note for healthcare finance professionals.(CMS)
Mar 01, 2009 ... Recent CMS transmittals of note for healthcare finance professionals include Transmittal 1672: Payment for Co-Surgeons in a Method II Critical Access Hospital (Jan. 30, 2009); Transmittal 430: Long-Term Care Hospital Special Project (Jan. 16, 2009); Transmittal 101: ...
Running on empty.(NEWS WATCH)
Mar 01, 2009 ... RUNNING ON EMPTY: 44 states and the District of Columbia are facing ...
California court rules against balance billing.(State Watch)(Law overview)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... In a decision filed on Jan. 8, 2009, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that "balance billing" is prohibited under state law. The issue of balance billing arises when a patient who is an HMO member seeks emergency care from a provider that does not have an advance ...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released Ambulatory Surgery in the United States, 2006, which contains the first data on outpatient surgery visits since 1996.(CDC)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released Ambulatory Surgery in the United States, 2006, which contains the first data on outpatient surgery visits since 1996. The report notes that ...
Outpatient surgery visits to freestanding centers increased threefold from 1996 to 2006, whereas the rate for outpatient surgery visits to hospital centers was relatively unchanged.(CDS)(Survey)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... Outpatient surgery visits to freestanding centers increased threefold from 1996 to 2006, whereas the rate for outpatient surgery visits to hospital centers was relatively unchanged. Visits to hospital centers, at 19.9 million, continued to outnumber those to freestanding centers, ...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published a final rule in the Jan. 16 Federal Register that pushes the compliance deadline on adoption of ICD-10 code sets back by two years.(Federal Register)(International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems code)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published a final rule in the Jan. 16 Federal Register that pushes the compliance deadline on adoption of ICD-10 code sets back by two years. The final rule replaces the ICD-9-CM code sets now used to report healthcare diagnoses ...
Oh, Canada!(NEWS WATCH)
Mar 01, 2009 ... OH, CANADA! A study of seven countries found that physician use of ...
Medicaid's role in state economies.(NEWS WATCH)(Law overview)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... With 44 states facing budget shortfalls in FY09 or FY10, Medicaid is being eyed as a target for spending cuts. A January 2009 policy brief from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured argues that Medicaid cuts will adversely affect a state's economy, as well as beneficiaries ...
A related final rule, also published in the Jan. 16 Federal Register, adopts an updated X12 standard, Version 5010, for certain electronic healthcare transactions.(Federal Register)(Law overview)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... A related final rule, also published in the Jan. 16 Federal Register, adopts an updated X12 standard, Version 5010, for certain electronic healthcare transactions; an updated version of the National Council for Prescription Drug ...
HHS announced that some 7.4 million children were enrolled in the State Children's Health Insurance Program.(HHS)(Department of Health and Human Services)(Survey)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... HHS announced that some 7.4 million children were enrolled in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in 2008--a 4 percent ...
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a report on community benefit and executive compensation practices at not-for-profit hospitals.(IRS)(Report)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a report on community benefit and executive compensation practices at not-for-profit hospitals. The report, which is based on responses to a questionnaire sent to 500 not-for-profit hospitals, found that the average compensation for the top ...
Say OM.(NEWS WATCH)(Survey)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... SAY OM: In 2007, almost four in 10 U.S. adults had used complementary and alternative ...
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for HHS has released its FY08 annual performance report, noting that its oversight efforts produced a $17 to $1 ROI over the past year.(OIG)(return on investment)(Report)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for HHS has released its FY08 annual performance report, noting that its oversight efforts produced a $17 to $1 ROI over the past year. The report highlights $2.35 billion in HHS receivables that were court ordered or agreed to be paid through civil ...
Missed opportunity.(NEWS WATCH)(Report)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Roughly half of individuals with health savings account (HSA)-compatible policies do not open ...
Credit crunch has big impact on capital projects.(Quick Hits: Top News Stories of the Month)(Survey)(Brief article)
Mar 01, 2009 ... Hospitals are beginning to stop or postpone "shovel-ready projects," according to a survey from the American Hospital ...