How providers can optimize payer contract negotiations
Negotiating payer contracts can be both challenging and frustrating. Payers have significant leverage at the bargaining table, enhanced by payer consolidations and the emergence of dominant local, regional and national plans. But by adopting a transparent data-driven strategy in negotiations with a payer, a provider organization can create an opportunity for building a strong partnership…
8 healthcare trends for 2024: A guide for health system leaders and their boards
As health systems progress through 2024, they will require effective governance to successfully navigate the rising headwinds. As they plan and execute initiatives, their leaders and boards should remain informed about eight key trends that will have a growing impact on the industry and the future success of their organizations. 1 Continued big technology M&A…
How a payer-provider collaboration around quality reporting can reduce costs and improve outcomes
Too often today, relations between provider and payer organizations can become contentious around issues related to payment and quality of care. Yet such conflict does not serve patients well, because it deflects these organizations’ attention from their underlying shared purpose: To work together to deliver well-coordinated, cost-effective healthcare to patients. With this purpose in mind,…
How CFOs can bring the rigor of finance to the call center
Health system call centers are universally acknowledged as significant cost centers. Too often, however, they are viewed as non-revenue-generating cost centers. In fact, a call center’s performance also affects revenue growth factors such as clinician utilization and patient loyalty. Despite the multiple ways that call centers affect both the bottom and top lines, there is…
4 common misconceptions about observation that have revenue implications
Among the many things that healthcare providers must document, few are as misunderstood and cause as much confusion as observation. Clearly, observation is often required as part of diagnosing and treating a disease or condition. The challenge for providers is that ambiguity and variability in regulatory and contract language create confusion regarding how to record…
Can MRF data be used for comparative benchmarking?
The impetus for the MRF requirement — as outlined by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) in its 2019 hospital price transparency final rule — was to enable informed decision-making about healthcare services based on their pricing, thereby helping to drive down the cost of healthcare. Yet significant obstacles continue to block…
Key questions for providers after more than 2 years of the price transparency rule
Evidence amassed from over two years of experience with compliance reinforces why providers need to focus on chargemaster prices and self-pay discount policies — and how they can benefit from analyzing trends in consumers’ price searches.
Why it’s so essential for hospitals to embrace a value-based payment strategy
dealing with myriad severe short-term operating strains, such as workforce shortages, to existential threats to their long-term future, including being cast as the enemy in the fight against rising healthcare costs, hospital leaders are struggling to maintain their organizations’ financial sustainability.
AI and machine learning – an intelligent approach to healthcare fraud prevention
The threat of fraud has only become more prevalent in healthcare as a result of three broad trends: Continued growth in the population of healthcare consumers The increase in care being delivered outside of traditional care settings, such as telehealth Exponential development of resources offering health and wellness services Moreover, as the baby boomer generation…
6 actions for physician practices on signing risk-based contracts
Physician practices are continuing to make the move into value-based payment, and for many, such contracts will present a substantial learning curve.