Merging for Value: 4 Key Benefits from the Beth Israel Lahey Health Merger

by Scott Stuecher, MHA, Veralon

Healthcare megamergers are picking up steam, with the merger of Aurora Health Care and Advocate Health Care completed in 2018 and the merger of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health (now CommonSpirit Health) finalized earlier this year. Optum also completed their acquisition of DaVita Medical Group in June of this year. It’s a trend that […]

Recruiting Specialty Physicians Through Practice Leasing

by Richard Chasinoff and Karin Chernoff Kaplan

Open PDF file >

Physicians who generate significant income from procedural or technical/ancillary components of their practice have understandable concerns that an employment relationship with a health system or hospital will not be financially attractive. They realize that employment could mean losing the income from their usually profitable procedures and technical components, and so are uninterested in having their […]

Micro-Hospitals: Short-Term Fad or Promising Market Growth Strategy?

by Meredith Inniger, Manager

Many conversations we have with hospital and health system executives about market growth strategies eventually turns to the topic of micro-hospitals — and for good reason. These facilities typically include a small-scale emergency department (ED), low-acuity surgery, and are often comprised of eight to 10 inpatient beds as well as additional observation beds (notably, these […]

5 Strategies for Aligning Physician Compensation with Value-Based Performance

by Amanda Brown, MHA

The move toward value-based contracts is happening “in small doses,” a 2018 MGMA survey found. While nearly three out of five hospitals participate in value-based contracts, just 34 percent of healthcare reimbursement is tied to value. This presents healthcare leaders with a dilemma: How can we engage physicians in value-based payment models when so little […]

Adjusting wRVUs for Modifiers when Compensating Physicians: The How and the Why

by Karin Chernoff Kaplan, Director

The use of CPT code modifiers to adjust work relative value units (wRVUs) under physician compensation models has become a universal practice among hospitals and health systems that employ physicians—and with good reason. The risks of not applying CPT code modifiers—such as an inability to objectively measure performance—are significant. Why should healthcare organizations that employ […]

BPCI Advanced: Apply Now,
Decide Later

by Amanda Brown, Manager, and Amanda Kueh, Analyst

CMS has opened applications for a second cohort of BPCI Advanced (Bundled Payment for Care Improvement-Advanced) participants in April. This initial application step gets you valuable data, and time to decide whether to pursue participation. Advantages of applying include: No obligation to participate. You have time (likely until fall 2019) to decide whether to sign […]

Finding a Partner with the Right Cultural Fit: 4 Strategies

by Meredith Inniger, Manager

Open PDF file > It’s healthcare’s version of dating: sizing up another organization for a potential partnership or merger. Seventy-one percent of healthcare leaders expect their organization’s merger, acquisition, or partnership activity to increase over the next three years. With continued changes to healthcare’s competitive landscape, hospital mergers and acquisitions (M&As) reached a record high […]

Engaging Primary Care Physicians in Value-Based Payment

by Rudd Kierstead, MBA, MPP
Becker's Hospital Review
May 2018

  It’s one thing to sit down with a payer and negotiate incentivized goals in a value-based payment contract. It’s a different thing entirely to change the behavior of the practitioners in your medical group in order to meet those goals. Physicians who choose to sell their practice and become employees are typically relieved to […]