February 2008
Profiting from a New Service
Like many physicians, you may be considering adding an ancillary service—such
as diagnostic testing or medical imaging—to
your practice. The potential benefits in terms of improved patient care and
enhanced profitability may be easy to envision. But successfully integrating
a new service into a medical practice takes careful planning and execution.
Read more...
Previsit Information Can Reduce
Payment Problems
The best time to address potential collection issues may be before a
patient’s visit—when your staff can obtain and verify information, identify
problems and head off potential difficulties. Your office previsit
procedures can positively influence collections. One objective is to confirm
the payment flow before each scheduled patient encounter. A second is to
have patients arrive on time, well aware of what is needed to satisfy their
financial obligations. And all of this begins with up-to-date coverage
information.
Read more...
Getting Your Answering Service Right
Patients with urgent problems need easy access. Physicians on call need
isolation from unnecessary disturbances. That makes an answering service—live
or electronic—an
essential intermediary. Selecting a high-quality, cost-effective service for
your medical practice requires careful consideration.
Read more...
House Democrats Fail to Override SCHIP
Veto
The House voted 260-152 on January 23, 2008, to override President Bush’s
veto of State Children’s Health Insurance Program expansion legislation (HR
3963), falling 15 votes short of the two-third majority required. As
reported in The New York Times, the legislation would have expanded
the program to cover ten million children and increased spending on the
program by $35 billion over five years, funded with an increase of the
federal cigarette tax by 61 cents per pack. It also would have limited
coverage to children in families with annual incomes below 300 percent of
the federal poverty level. Bush vetoed another version of the bill in
October 2007. The vote marks the second failure in three months by House
Democrats to override a Bush veto of legislation to expand the program.
Somerset Health Care Team News
Somerset Health Care Team Selected for ACHE Poster Session. We are pleased to announce that our submission, "State of the Art Financial Reporting is Key for the Success of the Employed Physician Network," was selected for presentation by the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) for the 24th Annual Congress on Healthcare Leadership Poster Session. ACHE's 2008 Congress on Healthcare Leadership Conference is being held from March 10 to 13, 2008, in Chicago, IL at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. For more information about the ACHE or the conference, please visit their web site.
Focus Group Meeting in Columbus, Ohio. If you have employed physicians or are considering it as a physician alignment strategy, we invite you to attend our next Focus Group on Thursday, March 20, 2008, at The Concourse Hotel & Conference Center at the Columbus Airport. At this event, you will view the Somerset Financial Management and Reporting Suites product followed by a highly interactive discussion about how to maximize its value to health care organizations. The Somerset Financial Management and Reporting Suites include: Financial Statement & Statistical Data; Provider Coding Graphs & Histograms; Revenue Cycle Performance Indicator; Fee Analyzer. For more information about the Ohio Focus Group event or our Financial Management and Reporting Suites, please contact us.
AAOE Annual Conference. Mike McCaslin, Steve Dobias, Steve Diagostino, Jeff Boomershine and George Kellum will be attending the American Association of Orthopaedic Executives (FKA BONES Society) conference in Charlotte, NC from April 13 to 16, 2008. On Tuesday, April 15, Mike McCaslin will conduct a breakout session entitled "Succession Planning for Buy-in and Buy-out Approaches," and he and Steve Dobias will present a half-day Strategic Planning course. We hope to see you there. Please visit us at Booth #323.
RBMA Radiology Summit. Jeff Boomershine and David Wolfe will be attending the 2008 Radiology Summit in Las Vegas, NV from May 4 to 7, 2008. Please visit us at our booth in the exhibit hall.
IMGMA Spring Conference & Vendor Show. Somerset CPAs is a Gold Sponsor of the Indiana Medical Group Management Association. Regina Elkins of our Health Care Team will be presenting “Revenue Cycle Performance – Managing for Maximum Performance” on Thursday, May 22 at the Spring Conference & Vendor Show in Bloomington, IN. Several other members of our Health Care Team will be there as well. Please stop by and visit us at our exhibit booth.
IMGMA Salary & Benefits Survey. We will launch the Annual IMGMA Salary & Benefits Survey for participation soon, so please watch your mail for the information.
Health Care Commentaries is provided by Somerset’s Health Care Team for our clients and other interested persons upon request. Since technical information is presented in generalized fashion, no final conclusion on these topics should be made without further review. For additional information on the issues discussed, please contact a member of our Health Care Team. This document is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.
Somerset CPAs, P.C.
3925 River Crossing Parkway, Third Floor
Indianapolis, Indiana 46240
317.472.2200 • 800.469.7206 • FAX 317.208.1200
http://healthcare.somersetcpas.com