Collecting from Patients May Get Tougher When New ACA Financial Rules for Non-profit Hospitals Became Effective January 1, 2014

Jan 10, 2014 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations

The IRS is authorized to strip tax-exempt status from ‘willful and flagrant’ violators of ACA financial rules; pathologists and clinical laboratory managers should take notice Hospitals and other providers already find it more difficult to collect larger amounts of money from patients who have high deductible health plans (HDHPs). That degree of difficulty increased on January 1, 2014. That’s the date when new regulations of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) kicked in that govern how hospitals can...

To Handle Increased Bad Debt by Patients in High-Deductible Health Plans, Hospitals Are Offering Loan Programs

Nov 15, 2013 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations

Even clinical laboratories and pathology groups are reporting increased patient bad debt because more patients have high annual deductibles, often $5,000 or more Hospital executives are anticipating a deluge of new patient debt associated with a dramatic increase in high-deductible health plans. Some hospital systems have even launched loan programs to help patients pay for their share of the cost for care provided and to stem the rising tide of uncollectible patient debt. Patient Bad Debt...

Vanderbilt University Medical Center Forms Nation’s Largest Clinically Integrated Network that includes Its Own Health Insurance Offering

Jul 8, 2013 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Sales and Marketing, News From Dark Daily

Clinically integrated networks is one market trend in response to shift away from fee-for-service payment and toward value-based provider reimbursement One fast-developing trend is that of academic centers forming integrated networks with various providers within a community and a surrounding region. This is related to a movement to establish accountable care organizations (ACOs). But it is also a response to actions by payers to narrow their networks and exclude high-cost providers, such as...
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