Contrary to widespread hopes, the growth in telehealth brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic probably won’t lower health care costs. But it may make some services more widely accessible. A new Kaiser Family Foundation study compares average 2020 commercial insurance payments for evaluation and management and mental health therapy claims for services provided via […]
Collecting patients is not an easy job, but there are ways to handle it in an efficient and compassionate manner. We talk to experts on how to prevent payment delinquencies and how to handle them when they occur. Ways to prevent delinquencies Before physicians worry about collecting delinquent payments, there are several strategies to ensure […]
One year ago, the United States marked a turning point for health care cost transparency with a new law aimed at helping Americans avoid unnecessary, unexpected medical debt. As of Jan. 1, 2022, health care providers and insurers are no longer allowed to sideswipe privately insured people with bills for out-of-network services. Experts say the […]
Outsourcing the medical billing process reshapes healthcare sectors by building better and more stable revenue cycle management systems and helps businesses in the long run. Additionally, outsourcing pulls down the operating costs and strengthens the efficiency of the revenue cycle parallelly. Outsourcing medical billing services to a reputable medical billing company brings about a range […]
Medicaid expansion improved financial performance for healthcare providers and was associated with lower uncompensated care costs and higher revenues. Medicaid expansion has positively impacted healthcare providers by boosting financial performance and resulting in payer mix improvements, data from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) found. All but 11 states have expanded Medicaid eligibility as of January […]
A recent survey highlighted how payment cuts are affecting denial strategies. Healthcare organizations are on the verge of stepping up their denials management strategies in 2023 as rate cuts are expected to impact revenue. On the delivery side, most practices plan to continue their telehealth operations in the New Year, according to the 2023 Part […]
Federal healthcare leaders say they are committed to helping physicians, patients, and health insurance companies by improving the prior authorization process for medical care. On Jan. 17, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator and U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral, held a listening session with health care stakeholders. That was followed by a conference call […]
On April 1, your revenue cycle will have additional diagnosis code options to further capture social determinants of health. The CDC just released upcoming changes to both the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code set and the official coding guidelines. The new changes include 42 diagnosis code additions, seven deletions, and one code revision. All changes will go […]
Update your facility-specific guidelines accordingly for 2023. Although the new calendar year is not the beginning of the federal fiscal year, there are coding classifications and terminologies that changed on Jan. 1, 2023. Current Procedural Terminology® (CPT) and Healthcare Current Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) have releases that went out on Jan. 1. There are also […]
The U.S. health care system will benefit from some provisions in the federal spending plan approved in Congress and signed by President Joe Biden late last year. But more work is needed to improve Medicare’s system for reimbursing physicians. A coalition representing almost 600,000 physicians and medical students urged the 118th Congress “to address outdated […]