Reimagining charity care: How Monument Health put patients first with an innovative financial assistance program
Depak Manmohan Goyal, MD, MBBS, MBA, executive director for revenue cycle and supply chain at Monument Health, remembers the case of a 40-year-old patient with late-stage cancer who sought care at the Rapid City, S.D., health system a few years ago before succumbing to her disease. An earlier and unrelated care episode ideally would have…
Healthcare Blame Game: New York Times medical debt piece dubbed ‘laziest story of the year,’ plus revisiting charity care policies
Brad examines a New York Times article by investigative reporter Sarah Kliff about a recent study of patients whose debt was eliminated by RIP Medical Debt. Researchers say the results surprised them.
It’s time to revisit your charity care policy
The cover story in the May issue of hfm focuses on a South Dakota health system that developed a new process to identify charity care patients. In this episode, HFMA Policy Director Shawn Stack discusses why good financial assistance policies and process are essential to patient care.
News Briefs: Medicaid DSH payment cut barely averted in September, still possible in November
Hospitals received a last-day reprieve from substantial cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, with House leaders reversing course Sept. 30 and ushering through a six-week government funding package. Language in the bill ensured the start of a four-year Medicaid DSH cut amounting to $32 billion was pushed back from Oct. 1 to Nov.…
Hospitals push back on Senate report that calls out lack of spending on charity care
Not-for-profit (NFP) hospitals continue to be the subject of congressional scrutiny, with the chair of a key Senate committee issuing a report that questions whether they provide levels of charity care that are commensurate with their tax exemption. The report was released Oct. 10 by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate Health, Education,…
The media blame game regarding patient financial conversations
Brad Dennison, HFMA chief content executive, discusses the March hfm cover story about patient-friendly payment and what some media organizations get wrong.
Healthcare News of Note: Department of Justice files formal challenge to UnitedHealth Group’s proposed acquisition of Change Healthcare
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: Hospitals react positively to news that the U.S. DoJ will challenge a proposed merger between UnitedHealth Group and Change Healthcare, $265 billion of care services could shift from traditional settings to the home by 2025, and a study says the level of community benefit provided by nonprofit hospitals is poorly aligned with the tax subsidy they receive.
For some 340B hospitals, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought an unanticipated and unwelcome loss of eligibility
Bringing longer stays and higher rates of deferred care, the COVID-19 pandemic is adversely affecting 340B eligibility for some hospitals.
Revenue Cycle Insights: January 2022
January's issue of Revenue Cycle Insights includes a lot on what's happening with the new surprise billing regulations.
Virtual Revenue Cycle Conference April 30 will help healthcare finance professionals manage operational stability during the COVID-19 pandemic
Healthcare finance professionals can learn to continue to support their health system’s financial viability and ensure use of consumer-centric strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic at HFMA's Virtual Conference April 30.