Preparing for the Future Operations Improvement Series # 15

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BRHS Healthcare Consulting 17778 Carol Circle Flint, Texas 75762 PH: (903) 825-6955 Email: bcharron@brhealthcare.com

Sequestration & Other Issues Although it was considered so terrible it was never going to happen, Sequestration is here. Hospitals are faced with absorbing a 2% reduc-tion in Medicare reimbursement. For some hospitals this can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Add to this change Value-based Purchasing, Readmission Penalties, reductions in DSH and UPL payments, increased RAC Reviews and hospitals across the country are facing an uphill climb. Moody’s Investors Services just maintained its earlier prognostication of a negative outlook for not-for-profit hospitals. It feels that with a sluggish economy, low revenue growth, and the new quality-based reimbursements that opportunity for improvement is limited.

Community & Rural providers, including Critical Access, are projecting major reductions in collectable revenue. The current poor economy has caused Commercial patients to put off elective admissions and surgeries. Self pay patients account for an ever increasing percentage of revenues. This puts a tremendous strain on all hospitals, even those with tax support.

Today cash is king! Appropriate collections for services rendered have to improve. All service lines need to be evaluated and those with no ROI should be improved, reduced, or eliminated. Revenue Cycle Management, Employee Productivity, Charge Structure, Charge Cap-ture, Coding, and Cost Reductions are all areas of paramount importance.

If your hospital does not have a positive margin with or without tax dollars or if your bottom line is solely dependent on DSH and UPL funds you should consider an in-depth review of operations. Do this with your current staff, if time and availability permits. Utilize outside consultants if you do not have the staff or just to obtain another perspective on efficiency and organizational direction. The time to act is now, not when your cash position has reached critical levels. Hospital reimbursement will never be better than it is today.

THE SOLUTION BRHS specializes in improving reimbursement and controlling costs. The company can assist you in identifying issues, correcting these problems, and improve cash flow through operational improvements and lower costs. We offer operational and financial reviews and specialized services that improve performance. When you’re ready to ramp up your performance, BRHS will begin by assessing your operation and creating an action plan for sustain-able results.

BRHS is a results-oriented nationwide provider of healthcare consulting and financial advisory. With over seventy (70) years of combined experience in healthcare administration and finance, BRHS personnel have the expertise to identify critical issues and provide real world solu-tions. The firm has expertise in Economic Performance Improvement, Revenue Cycle Management, Financial Advisory, Feasibility Analysis (Fair Market Value), and Facility Turnarounds. It also provides Market Assessment and Development, Coding Validation, and Physician Practice Management / RHC consulting services