GeBBS Healthcare Blog

By Nitin Thakor, GeBBS President & CEO

AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack recently sent a congratulatory letter to President-elect Donald Trump and asking him to go slowly on changes to our healthcare delivery system, particularly when it comes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This is good advice since healthcare represents a significant portion of the U.S. economy and essential public services. Pollack explained his case in terms that abrupt changes could lead to significant instability for patients, providers, insurers and others.

A recent article in US News and World Reportexplained a little known fact of which most patients are completely unaware. A trip to the emergency room could cause a secondary injury to a patient’s wallet. Even if a patient goes to a hospital included in his or her health insurance network, if the emergency room physician who treats the patient is not part of the health insurance network, the patient will be responsible for a separate and unexpected bill.

At the recent Becker's Hospital Review 5th Annual CEO + CFO Roundtable healthcare experts seasoned in the revenue cycle management (RCM) process discussed how their organizations and companies are working to stay ahead of the financial curve.  As hospitals evolve into a value-based care delivery environment, RCM becomes even more critical.

By Nitin Thakor, GeBBS President & CEO

In a recent blog we asked that CMS go slowly with the enactment of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), a landmark payment system for Medicare physician fees that replaces the sustainable growth rate formula.

By Nitin Thakor, GeBBS President & CEO

Some lawmakers are warning the CMS that its Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) draft rule on new physician payments could significantly harm small physician practices. When MACRA goes live in 2019, it is supposed to improve healthcare delivery by giving bonuses to top-performing doctors and clinicians and provide negative incentives for underperformers on a variety of measures, especially quality of care. However, many people in the healthcare industry believe that MACRA will have a net negative effect on care delivery and cause many small practices to close their doors or consolidate with other practices, which will undoubtedly lead to higher healthcare costs.

By Nitin Thakor, GeBBS President & CEO

I was struck by recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst entitled: “How Multi-Specialty Hubs Fill a Major Gap in the Care Continuum.” The article brings out a fact that all of us in the healthcare industry need to take to heart, and that is: how can we “think outside of the box” and take advantage of the resources we presently have and use them to improve care and reduce costs.

By Nitin Thakor, GeBBS President & CEO

A relatively new phenomenon in healthcare has the potential to negatively impact hospitals’ revenue stream. This new phenomenon is called the freestanding emergency department (FSED). We know that market share in any hospital marketing area is critical to the facility’s success. If a competing FSED opens in a hospital’s market area it will surely impact the hospital’s revenue.

Black Book™, well-known for its accurate, impartial customer satisfaction surveys in the services and software industries, recently conducted its annual revenue cycle management outsourcing and software/technology user poll. They survey the clients of RCM vendors to provide insight into their customer experience in the functional areas of Billing, Charge Capture, Mid Process Coding, Claims Management, Reimbursement, Insurance and Payer Management, Payment Resolution and Collections, and collectively for end-to-end RCM software/technology and outsourced managed services.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) grace period for denials of claims under ICD-10 will end on October 1, 2016. Healthcare providers and billing companies must be prepared for this deadline and its financial effects.

With cash flows declining, margins shrinking, and bad debt on the rise, it's more important than ever for healthcare providers to maintain a steady stream of income. If your organization has not implemented an end-to-end, comprehensive best practices revenue cycle management (RCM) solution, it is time to do it! You don’t have to add staff; just call on an experienced outsourcing firm with 10+ years of RCM experience with expertise in multi-specialty collections and billing. They will be able to deliver an all-inclusive RCM solution that follows industry-standard key performance metrics to measure success and integrate best practices, so that you get the value of their proven experience and expertise.