Total expenses for hospitals and physician practices were up 7 percent compared to June 2021. Hospitals, health systems, and physician practices saw rising revenues and patient volumes in June 2022, but it was not enough to offset the continuously high expenses, leading to negative margins for the sixth consecutive month, according to data from Kaufman […]
Appeal rights appear much narrower than many expected. Earlier this year, a federal appeals court issued an opinion on Barrows v. Becerra, a long-running class action lawsuit. Filed by a group of Medicare beneficiaries, the suit alleged they had to pay out of pocket for skilled nursing care—despite being hospitalized for over three days—because their […]
What to do when the pathology doesn’t correlate to the service provided. The rules for cutaneous (skin) excision coding are straightforward: When the pathology for a lesion is benign, code for excision of benign lesion, 11400-11446; and when the pathology for a lesion is malignant, code for excision of malignant lesion, 11600-11646. But in the […]
During a typical office visit, physicians may provide evaluation and management (E/M) services, minor procedures and more. The question is: Can they bill for each one separately? In some cases, the answer is no. In others, though, the answer is yes — but they must know what current procedural terminology (CPT) modifier to append. Modifiers […]
The final rules for fiscal year 2023 include a 3.8 percent payment increase for hospice providers, 2.5 percent increase for inpatient psychiatric facilities, and 3.2 percent boost for inpatient rehabilitation facilities. CMS has released final rules solidifying Medicare reimbursement rates for hospice providers, inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs), and inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for fiscal year […]
The home- and community-based services quality measure set also aims to advance health equity and reduce health disparities for older adults and people with disabilities. CMS has released a quality measure set for home- and community-based services (HCBS), aiming to promote consistent quality measurement and data collection in the Medicaid HCBS program and improve health […]
Documenting a diagnosis in the health record extends beyond its impact on reimbursement and quality-of-care measures. It is also critical to patient safety. One of the more challenging aspects of the work as CDI professionals is physician engagement, which is why connecting the work to the patient level is so important. Many providers don’t want […]
A survey shows that 60% of consumers who look for pricing information seek answers from their insurance companies, but healthcare price transparency should still be a priority for providers. Not many consumers are asking how much healthcare services cost but among those who do, they are seeking answers primarily from their insurance companies, according to […]
More than 200,000 residents could be at risk of displacement if federal leaders establish minimum staffing requirements for nursing homes. Nursing homes would have to spend up to $10 billion per year and hire almost 188,000 nurses to comply with increased minimum staffing requirements, according to a report from the American Health Care Association (AHCA) […]
Health insurer reports second quarter numbers, boosted by performance of subsidiaries UnitedHealthcare and Optum Health. UnitedHealth Group reported a promising second quarter, achieving 13% revenue growth behind member expansion at UnitedHealthcare and value-based arrangements at Optum Health. The payer’s Q2 results were highlighted by revenue growing from $71.3 billion to $80.3 billion year-over-year, while earnings […]










