November 2007
Monitoring Practice Cash Flow
Many practice expenses must be paid regularly—whether cash flow is strong
or weak. Focusing on cash inflows and outflows can help ensure that your
practice will have sufficient cash on hand to meet its ongoing needs.
Read more...
Time for Year-End Tax Planning
The window for cutting taxes on your medical practice’s 2007 income is
closing soon. Most income tax strategies are available only through
year-end. Starting to plan now can pay off nicely at tax filing time next
year. Here are some tax-smart moves to consider.
Read more...
Is the Future of Physician Practice
Management Changing? Market Indicators Would Say Yes!
With the experience of working
in different medical markets, one observation that can be made is that each
market represents its own individual situation. At the same time, the
accumulation of individual market changes becomes the national trend in
health care. Through these cumulative trends, it is becoming apparent that
major changes are occurring in physician employment. In turn, where
physicians seek employment substantially impacts the career movement of
medical practice executives.
Read more...
Record Numbers Go Abroad for Health
Care
In a recent article published by
the UK's Telegraph, it was stated that more than 70,000 Britons will
have had medical treatment abroad in 2007—a figure that is forecast to
rise to almost 200,000 by the end of the decade. Patients needing major
heart surgery, hip operations and cataract surgery are using the Internet to book
operations to be carried out thousands of miles away. Visit their web site for the full article...
Officer of Inspector General
(OIG) Fiscal
Year 2008 Work Plan Published
One of the areas OIG is
looking at in 2008 is MRI utilization. Below is an excerpt from the Work
Plan:
Business Relationships and the Use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
We will review the
arrangements under which magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is provided
under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Section 1848 (a) (1) of the
Social Security Act establishes the physician fee schedule as the basis
for Medicare reimbursement for all physician services. We will describe
relationships among physicians, billing providers and others who work
together to provide imaging services and determine whether these
relationships affect levels of utilization. We will pay particular
attention to financial relationships among the parties involved in
providing services and identify whether such relationships are
associated with high use of services.
The full Work Plan is available on OIG's web site.
DRA Impact on In-Office Imaging
Dr. Harvey L. Neiman, Executive Director of the American College of
Radiology, addressed the impact that the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) has had on
self-referring physicians at the 2007 Economics of Diagnostic Imaging
National Symposium held October 25, 2007, in Arlington, VA. Many physicians
are finding that imaging operations are no longer generating the levels of
revenue possible prior to the DRA, and in some cases are now below the "break
even" point.
Click here for additional information on Dr. Neiman's address.
IRS Releases 2008 Standard Mileage
Rates
The IRS has released the 2008 optional standard mileage rates to be used by
employees, self-employed individuals and other taxpayers to compute
deductible costs of operating an automobile (including vans, pickups and
panel trucks) for business, medical, moving and charitable purposes.
Read more...
Medical Briefs
This issue's
Medical Briefs article includes "New Medicare ZIP Code Requirement,"
"Meeting and Greeting Patients" and "National Patient Satisfaction Survey."
Read more...
Somerset Health Care Team News
Opening
Soon. Congratulations to Orthopaedic Associates, P.A., Emerald Coast Eye
Institute and Surgical Specialists, ASC, LLC, of Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.
The opening of their 47,000 square foot medical office building is scheduled
to be complete in December. It will include an eye institute, physical
therapy, orthopaedics, MRI and an ambulatory surgery center. Somerset
provided entity formation, capital and financing services and construction
liaison services. Move-in will be during the first and second weeks of
January.
Succession Planning for ASCs. Steve Dobias wrote an article on the topic of succession planning for surgery centers that will be published in the January 2008 issue of Outpatient Surgery magazine. We will send a link to the article in our January or February issue of Health Care Commentaries.
New
Team Member. We
are pleased to welcome Sharron
Hubbard to our Health Care Team. She joins us as a staff accountant and
brings experience gained in an audit position on the health care team of a
national CPA firm and as a corporate tax intern for a European import car
subsidiary. Sharron also had a previous career in respiratory therapy prior
to pursuing accounting.
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