Surgery has long been a key driver of hospital profitability. Effectively handling the new Medicare outpatient surgery rule[1] and subsequent care shift to outpatient settings is critical to long term financial success. This rule includes several important policy changes, most notably the elimination of the Inpatient Only List on a phased schedule through CY2024 when […]
Board members of not-for-profit community hospitals face enormous pressure to protect their community’s access to care. Even when the economic reasons for hospital mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are compelling, the decision to cede control to another system cannot be made based on purchase price alone. It’s just one reason why not-for-profit board members must understand […]
Hospitals are increasingly challenged to meet their Emergency Department (ED) and trauma center coverage requirements. This challenge has been enhanced by the shortage of specialty physicians in certain markets, and the increasing number of physicians unwilling to provide the coverage, due to quality-of-life issues, reimbursement pressures, and increased malpractice liability related to emergency care. Therefore, […]
The search for a partner typically begins with a request for proposals (RFP). It’s a process designed to solicit interest from other organizations and narrow the field to two to three candidates that could prove to be a good fit. For health systems that respond to an RFP from an independent hospital, the goal is […]
As one of the largest health system cost centers and one with significant regulatory implications, physician compensation should be top priority. A comprehensive approach to physician compensation enables the organization to recruit and retain physician talent, align physician incentives with those of the organization to drive performance, and maintain an infrastructure to mitigate risk associated […]
Are you developing financial projections for business planning or an upcoming valuation? During COVID-19, each organization was uniquely impacted by management decisions, state and local policy, and specialty-specific challenges or opportunities, etc. Normalizing financials moving forward should proceed with these considerations. Click here to view how various factors impact these projections.
The road through COVID-19 likely will be uneven for not-for-profit systems, with factors such as geography, cash position, unemployment and soft demand for services all playing a role. But for some systems, year two of the pandemic could also prove to be the right time for growth. In our “Anatomy of a Deal” series, we’ll […]
Your organization’s near-term success is dependent on emerging from COVID in full sprint to address critical strategic initiatives and new opportunities. Strategic relationships can provide access to capabilities, expertise and speed to market that are superior to a “build” or “buy” approach. While traditional relationships (other hospitals/systems, health plans, etc.) offer a degree of support, […]
Contact the Authors: Mark Dubow, Director, mdubow@veralon.com John Harris, Director, jharris@veralon.com
By now you’ve probably read (whether published by Veralon or another source) that there were significant changes made to the 2021 Medicare physician fee schedule (PFS). The entire program was originally intended to be budget neutral, but reimbursement was restructured to increase payments to cognitive specialties (such as primary care and other medical specialties) and […]