New Web-Based Service Helps Hospitals Reduce the Risk of Medicare Overpayments, Rejected Claims and Other Billing Problems - August 2008
Billing errors are driving almost all large repayments made to the U.S. government by hospitals...and recovery audit contractors (RACs) identified and corrected $357 million in FY 2007 Medicare overpayments in three states alone.
To help insulate your facility from compliance hassles and multi-million dollar Medicare repayments, AIS has teamed up with Strategic Management Systems, Inc. (SMSInc.), led by former HHS Inspector General Richard P. Kusserow, to launch High-Risk Areas in Medicare Billing: Compliance and Auditing Tools for Hospitals and Health Systems .
Read the full article from AIS Health.com.
They’re Back: Harry and Louise on Health Insurance - August 2008
A series of political ads starring the fictional couple Harry and Louise back in 1994 helped sour the public's view of President Clinton's plan for universal health coverage. Now, the two are back asking the presidential contenders to make health care their top domestic priority. The latest Harry and Louise ads, starring the same actors as the earlier ads, will run during the Democratic and Republican Party conventions. The groups sponsoring the new ad include one group that aggressively fought the Clinton efforts back in 1994—the National Federation of Independent Business. The American Hospital Association, the Catholic Health Association, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, and Families USA are also sponsors.
Read the full article from AP/Yahoo News.
View the ad at www.harryandlouisereturn.com
Hospital prices increase 0.2% in July - August 2008
Overall hospital prices increased 0.2% in July, and were 3.2% higher than a year ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Prices at general medical and surgical hospitals increased 0.2%, and were 3.4% higher than in July 2007, according to the BLS' Producer Price Indices, which measure average changes in selling prices received by domestic producers for their output. For hospitals, this translates into actual or expected reimbursement for a sample of treatments or services. The PPI for hospitals measure changes in actual or expected reimbursement received for services across the full range of payer types. This includes the negotiated contract rate from the payer plus any portion expected to be paid by the patient.
Health Leaders Honor TRUST Award Recipient - August 2008
Health care leaders last night honored 2008 TRUST Award recipient Robert Brook, M.D., vice president of RAND Corp. and director of RAND Health, for his outstanding contributions to the study of quality measurement. Brook and his research teams developed most of the quality measures used today. In a recent interview for Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, Brook said, “We are working to change the culture of researchers so that the end result is not a peer-reviewed article but an action plan that uses science to make a difference in quality, health and cost.” To read more about the award, visit www.hret.org. HRET is an AHA affiliate.
AHRQ-funded Study Finds Hospital Patient Reports Helpful for Identifying Adverse Events - July 2008
In a study reported in the July 15 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that surveying patients after they were hospitalized can help identify adverse events that occurred during their care. The study, “Comparing Patient-Reported Hospital Adverse Events with Medical Record Review: Do Patients Know Something that Hospitals Do Not?” is the largest study to date to compare patient-reported adverse events with those gleaned from medical record reviews. Read More.
Programs Honored for Innovation in Palliative, End-of-Life Care - July 2008
Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota in St Paul and Minneapolis, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Haven Hospice in Gainesville, FL, each will receive the Circle of Life Award July 25 at the AHA and Health Forum Leadership Summit in San Diego. “The Circle of Life award recognizes organizations that are focused on expanding the frontiers of palliative and end-of-life care, in terms of access and quality,” said AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock. “These programs are striving to be there for patients and families every step of the way, with expertise, compassion and assistance. A focus on choice and dignity help distinguish these programs and help serve as a model to others.”
Four Hospitals Honored for Commitment to Quality - July 2008
The 2008 AHA-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize was awarded today to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, MI. Munson, which will receive $75,000, was selected by an expert panel based on its culture of quality and efforts to achieve the Institute of Medicine’s six quality aims for health care. “Each hospital recognized today has taken a slightly different path in its efforts to improve quality and patient care,” said AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock. “That culture is absolutely essential in the continuous process of change that is necessary to ensuring that care is always the safest and of the highest quality it can possibly be.”
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