Provider charges for out-of-network care increased by $1,157 after the passage of state surprise billing laws that allow arbitrators to consider provider charges in a surprise billing dispute. State surprise billing laws that allow arbitrators to consider provider charges when determining out-of-network payment amounts for surprise medical bills led to an increase in billed charges […]
The average cost per employee is estimated at $13,800 Employers are expected to pay a lot more for employee health insurance in 2023. A study by a professional services firm estimates a 6.5% increase resulting in an average of $13,800 per employee. The 6.5% increase is double the 3% most employers saw in 2021 and […]
MGMA report shows value-based contracts account for $30,922 per provider The Medical Group Management Association released a report looking at the proliferation of value-based contracts and how quality metrics tie-in to revenue. The report, 2022 MGMA DataDive Practice Operations, shows that revenue from value-based contracts accounted for varying amounts of total medical revenue in 2021 […]
Self-pay after insurance patient collection rates dropped from 76 percent in 2020 to 55 percent in 2021 as the share of out-of-pocket balances over $7,500 grew. Patient collection rates at hospitals declined and bad debt increased when out-of-pocket bills reached $7,500, according to a report from Crowe Revenue Cycle Analytics (Crowe RCA). The report reflects […]
More than half of economists agree that the U.S. economy is headed for a downturn. Contrary to popular belief, the healthcare sector has never been recession-proof. Reports indicate that the healthcare industry is affected later in a recession and has a longer recovery period. Compared to other healthcare facilities, like hospitals and emergency rooms, independent […]
Another study confirms that medical billing costs in the US significantly exceed those in similar countries, but researchers now know why: coding drives up US administrative spending. Complex coding structures in the US are driving up medical billing costs in the US, making it one of the most expensive countries to get paid, according to […]
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 […]
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 […]










