Gail Wilensky: No Surprises Act — where things stand after 16 months
Few areas of concern within our nation’s healthcare system have caused patients, their families and caregivers more consternation than surprise medical bills. Most of the new protections under the 2020 No Surprises Act became effective on Jan. 1, 2022. Last August, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury released a statement providing…
Aaron Crane: It’s time to Ignite the Spark for meaningful price transparency
“U.S. healthcare gets a C- for price transparency” could easily be the next headline the industry sees. After all, just 70% of hospitals are in compliance with both aspects of the federal price transparency rule, a Health Affairs study found, even though the rule took effect two years ago. But dig deeper than this study…
Improving performance across the real estate portfolio
As health systems continue to face intense operational and financial pressures, performance improvement initiatives must reach all aspects of the organization. Often overlooked in performance improvement efforts is the real estate portfolio, both owned and leased. Management may perceive real estate as a relatively static resource and may not even realize the full extent of…
Laurie Beyer: Routine rounding helps yield financial improvements
If you want to reach Laurie R. Beyer, MBA, CPA, executive vice president and CFO at GBMC HealthCare in Maryland, avoid any time between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Tuesday through Friday. No matter what time of year it is, she will be unavailable to take your call during those times because she will be…
Joe Fifer: The courage to embrace change
During one of my first meetings with HFMA staff in 2012, I advised the assembled staffers that if they thought they’d be sitting next to the same people and doing the same things in a year’s time, they were probably mistaken. When I noticed people squirming in their seats, I hastened to add that I…
David Johnson: Academic medicine, where privilege compounds dysfunction
Academic medicine combines healthcare with higher education, the two U.S. economic sectors that have exhibited outsized cost growth over the past 50 years. The result is a stunning disconnection between academic medical center (AMC) business practices and the supply-demand dynamics reshaping healthcare delivery. Market, technological and regulatory forces are pushing the healthcare industry to deliver…
Jill Geisler cautions healthcare finance leaders to beware of blind spots and biases
You’re a good leader. You work hard, care deeply and want your people to succeed. You take part in trainings and programs to elevate your skills and the culture you lead. You read columns like this to pick up management tips. And you don’t stop reading when you get to the uncomfortable message of this…
Dennis Laraway joins Cleveland Clinic as CFO
Dennis L. Laraway, MBA, officially joined Cleveland Clinic as CFO on March 13. An experienced financial leader, Laraway has held CFO positions at several large integrated health systems, including Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, Texas, and St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. Most recently, he served…
Robert Turner: Avoiding a bond covenant default takes aggressive action from a health system borrower
Not-for-profit hospitals and health systems have faced an increasingly difficult operating environment since inflation began to grow in mid-2021. Last year was particularly hard, beginning with a new wave of COVID-19 infections caused by the omicron variant, and followed by mounting expenses, staffing shortages, rising interest rates and investment losses. As a result, Kaufman Hall…
South Texas Chapter event exceeds expectations
HFMA’s South Texas Chapter hosted a women’s leadership conference on Jan. 20 in Austin, Texas. The theme was Empower, Encourage, Elevate, and it was the first event of its kind for the Chapter. Things went so well that they’re already planning to do it again next year. Trying something different Amy Raymond, vice president of…