Paul Barr, MS, MBA

About the Author

Paul Barr, MS, MBA

Latest Work

A crisis of faith regarding value-based care

As the movement to reduce or eliminate fee-for-service payment in favor of value-based payment plods along, some in the industry are voicing doubts that it is ever going to happen or that it is even necessary.  An HFMA survey conducted in February and March for the “Healthcare 2030” series of special reports finds some of…

Array August 31, 2023

Annual Conference: Keynote speaker Thomas Fisher tells a disturbing story about denial of care

Thomas Fisher, MD, MPH, author and emergency room physician for University of Chicago Medicine, might have made some members of the audience uncomfortable Tuesday at HFMA’s Annual Conference as he described a scenario that reflects poorly on at least one hospital. The situation boiled down to this: A man with a broken jaw and without…

Array June 27, 2023

Annual Conference: Joe Fifer says goodbye

In the 11 years that Joseph J. Fifer led HFMA, he successfully guided the Association through some difficult events. The COVID-19 pandemic, the social unrest related to racial issues and enduring political divisiveness were among the challenges experienced by HFMA under his watch. But Fifer never gave up on promoting the benefits of personal connections…

Array June 26, 2023

Annual Conference: HFMA MAP Award winners for High Performance in Revenue Cycle unveiled

At a time when healthcare executives must balance intensely competing priorities, 15 healthcare organizations have shown they can address revenue and patient engagement challenges successfully and, as a result, have earned a 2023 HFMA MAP Award for High Performance in Revenue Cycle. This year’s group of winners, announced June 25 in Nashville at the HFMA…

Array June 25, 2023

How the CEO of Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. aims to upend the PBM model 

W hen Alexander Oshmyansky, MD, PhD, pitched the idea of a not-for-profit drug company that would undercut drugmakers’ excessively priced pharmaceuticals, he was soundly rejected by potential backers, attracting no outside money. But on the advice to try to create a for-profit company instead, and with the later backing of Mark Cuban, things started to happen.…

Array April 28, 2023

Revenue Cycle Insights newsletter: Medicare outpatient payment bump less than first appears

On the surface, CMS is granting Medicare outpatient care a 3.8% payment increase, but a variety of negative adjustments that will vary by provider are going to cut into the net gain. Senior Editor Nick Hut breaks it all down. Also, Vanderbilt Health is reaping gains from its earlier adoption of automation technology in revenue…

Array November 18, 2022

Staff, patients, benchmarks have the attention of rev cycle leaders

5 takeaways from HFMA’s Revenue Cycle Conference

Array April 5, 2022

Revenue Cycle Insights: March 2022

Workforce shortages are affecting revenue cycle functions, and you can learn how executives from Spectrum Health and Stanford Health Care are limiting the damage in the lead story of March's Revenue Cycle Insights.

Array March 11, 2022

Annual Conference Day 2: Culture of healthcare slows needed change, says keynoter Robert Pearl, MD

Recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of healthcare’s culture is key to implementing needed industry changes, according to Robert Pearl, MD, former CEO of Permanente Medical Group.

Array November 10, 2021

Hospital CFOs concerned about service lines; some embrace coming disruption

A survey conducted by HFMA for the Healthcare 2030 special series shows CFOs as expecting big changes to the hospital and health system operating model.

Array October 7, 2021