CMS and the Economic S.G.R for 2008-15?

CMS to Docs … Payments to Drop!

[By Staff Writers]

Join Our Mailing List 

According to Modern Physician, November 1, 2007, Medicare payments to physicians in 2008 will drop nearly 10 percent under a final rule issued by CMS, which estimates it will pay approximately $58.9 billion to 900,000 physicians and other health care professionals next year. The sustainable growth rate formula, which is tied to the health of the economy and is used to calculate physician payments under the Medicare program, is the force driving the projected cut.

Assessment

Since it has been estimated that payments will drop by more than 40 percent by 2015, unless the SGR is replaced, do you think Congress will adopted interim measures to stop payment reductions?

???????????????????????????????????????

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

OUR OTHER PRINT BOOKS AND RELATED INFORMATION SOURCES:

Product DetailsProduct DetailsProduct Details

Product Details  Product Details

   Product Details 

SNFs

Skilled Nursing Facilities in the News

Staff Writers

The Carlyle Group is taking steps to head off critics of its $6.3 billion acquisition of long-term care player Manor Care.

Responding to pressure from unions representing Manor Care’s workers, Carlyle sent letters to state regulators pledging that it would hire enough staff, train them well and make proper infrastructure investments in its homes. This gesture, however, apparently wasn’t enough to impress some Congressmen, who have begun an inquiry into not only Carlyle, but business practices at investor-owned nursing homes generally. They’re investigating widespread allegations that private equity firms cut staff to the bone while remaking corporate structures to avoid getting sued when patients are harmed.

Reps. John Dingell (D-MI) and Barney Frank (D-MA) are planning hearings on the topic, and most likely legislation as well. This follows action by Sens. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA), who have sent letters to five private investment firms asking for information on their ownership structure and management practices. Baucus and Grassley also asked CMS for information on its oversight of nursing homes.

The concern on the The Hill isn’t unique. Earlier this month, officials in Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Washington asked regulators to investigate the Carlyle acquisition–and to withhold approval of the deal until they did so.

New York Times – October 24, 2007

NOTE: Any insider thoughts on this breaking development?

It seems to co-incide nicely with release of our November print edition which features financial benchmarks for this industry. 

-The Moderators

HIT and Virtual Medical Visits?

Join Our Mailing List

Compensation for e-mail – A New Payment Model for Doctors?

By Staff Writers

It’s been a long wait, but we have recently learned that – ever so slowly – some health plans are beginning to pay doctors for ‘virtual visits’ with patients.

Vendors like McKesson-owned RelayHealth, Epic Systems and Web portal vendor Medfusion have offered the technology for some time, but payer acceptance has been slow. However, a consensus is building that such visits may be a good idea, despite lingering questions over billing and the ability of physicians to legally offer e-care from out of their home state. These visits might save substantial amounts of money while keeping patients healthy–including a Kaiser study concluding that it saves $70 to $120 on each virtual visit.

  1. And so, are hospitals to follow this physician trend?
  2. How about CMS and the various state Medicaid systems?
  3. What about private insurance companies, HMOs and MCOs, etc?

Please opine!

The Moderators 

Product DetailsProduct Details

***

What is a Certified Medical Planner™?

Join Our Mailing List

The CMP™ Defined

[By Staff Writers]

cmp-logo

Here is the answer taken directly from the www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org website.

The CERTIFIED MEDICAL PLANNER™ charter designation program is a live, instructor-led, online asynchronous educational exercise designed to increase your health industry knowledge, affinity for physician-clients and financial advisory practice revenues in an honest and ethical fashion; regardless of compensation model. Fiduciary capacity is implicit.

We provide 500 hours of health economics and medical practice management education, during a 12 month period, that comprises four quarter-mesters. Adult learners should plan on spending 5-10 hours per week on study activities. The program may be crashed under special situations and/or delivered traditionally and onground upon request.

Check it out for yourself!
Prof. Hope Hetico; RN, MHA, CMP

Enter the CMPs

Product DetailsProduct DetailsProduct Details

Product Details  Product Details

   Product Details 

NPI Numbers

The Impending NPI Deadline 

By Staff Reporters

www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Join Our Mailing List 

Most of us know that until now, hospitals and other healthcare organizations had until May 23, 2008 to implement the National Provider Identifier (NPI) scheme for Medicare claims; but we were apparantly wrong! 

CMS said today that hospitals must get their NPI in place for submitting Medicare fee-for-service claims by January 1, 2008. If not, CMS will begin rejecting such claims. (CMS is will still accept non-NPI claims from professional services providers like doctors, labs and clinics).

CMS officials say they’re moving up the deadline because most providers are already on board with the NPI.

Really! Are they sure? Not from my view of the universe!

To be sure, providers who aren’t using the NPI are already technically in trouble already, as the original deadline is long past. However, as part of the transition to full NPI rollout, CMS has been letting them slide if (in essence) they promised to work on it by filing a contingency plan.

Anyone caught off guard with this announcement?

– A Healthcare CTO

High Deductible Health Care Plans

Providing Health Care in a High-Deductible World

By Steven Podnos MD, CFP®

With the increasingly common use of  High Deductible Health Care Plans (HDHCP) (often combined with a Health Savings Account), health care providers are seeing a growing population of health care consumers that are paying “out of pocket” in some fashion for the first several thousand dollars of health care expenses each year.

Q: What is the impact of this for health care providers and hospitals? 

Consider that historical pricing for health care services are much higher than providers expect to receive. Many “fee schedules” hark back to a day in which reimbursement bore some relationship to charged fees-almost unheard of now. 

Let’s illustrate

Enter the consumer with a high deductible plan.  Last year, with his old more traditional health insurance, he sees a physician for an initial visit.  With ancillaries, the office bill might be $300, but the patient pays his $20 co-pay and leaves.  The physician is contracted with the insurer to provide that level of service for a total of $110, and collect the remaining $90 from the carrier.  Everybody is happy. 

This year however, no one is happy.  The consumer with the HDHCP gets a $300 bill for the same service that cost him $20 last year.  He doesn’t know or doesn’t remember that his health care insurance premiums are lower than last year (as he may not pay them). 

The result is one very unhappy patient. Clearly, health care providers need to adapt to the new world of HDHC plans. Hospitals and physician offices should have a list of charges for patients paying cash or having these plans.  The charges would fairly approximate what they expect to receive from patients with Medicare and/or managed care plans for the same services. 

Conversely, patients with these HDHC plans must learn to ask up front for a “cash” price on health care services.  

Dr. Podnos is a fee-only financial planner in Brevard County, Florida.

Product Details  Product Details

About the Medical Executive-Post

Join Our Mailing List

Welcome Bloggers, Registered Users, Visitors and Colleagues

By Dr. David E. Marcinko; FACFAS, MBA, CPHQ, CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]dem2

The Medical Executive-Post is a public online community of physicians, healthcare executives and administrators, and their informed financial advisors, accountants and business consultants who have strong connections to the health economics, management and advisory space. Most are professionals who are empowered to connect, inform and interact with those who share the same interests and expertise in this important expanding universe.

It is lightly moderated and dedicated to meeting the administrative needs of our nation’s physicians, office managers, medical practices, clinics and small healthcare entities. Our aim is to help them maintain a competitive edge in the markets they serve; and to take advantage of emerging business opportunities in the healthcare industrial complex.

By its very nature … the Medical Executive-Post emphasizes informative brief-features, essays, case-models, interviews of industry “movers-and-shakers,” and insider “tips and pearls” for individual physicians, clinics and medical practices. We emphasize how-to material and columns as well as insightful practice management articles. We also include relevant personal financial planning topics for doctors, with insightful viewer comments and follow-up opinions.  And, because more features are in development – it is subject to change without notice.

We therefore invite you to blog and comment as you see fit, and join us for the exciting e-journey as we “seek to operate at the intersection of medical mission and profit margin.”

And so, to surf through the current month, click the first entry on the list and start reading. If you want something specific, try searching by category. If you’re looking for something really specific, try using the Search feature on the top-right.

To encourage users to join and participate in the ongoing cognitive community discussions, we’ve left commenting enabled after free sign-up, so speak your mind and leave all the informed comments you like: review, read, rant and rave!  

Let the Medical Executive-Post be among your personal tools for success.

Want to Know Even More?

Advertise with Us: The Medical Executive-Post is an iMBA Inc imprint property that delivers targeted messages when readers are subscribed, visiting or searching for content on a specific healthcare administration topic. 

Community Involvement: The Medical Executive-Post is our community of users who actively participate in sharing their knowledge through cogent posts, essays, comments, Q-As and informed opinions. Leverage the power of a dynamic professional social network and word-of-mouth marketing on the leading online forum in the lucrative and expanding healthcare administration space.

Brand Impact: The Medical Executive-Post offers an uncluttered advertising environment that promotes contextual relevancy while improving visibility and impact. 

Support Us: There are two ways to contribute to the Medical Executive-Post:

Contact Us Today: Discuss your needs and allow us to provide solutions. MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

Blog and Advertise today … Succeed tomorrow!

Editors, Moderators and Staff

Institute of Medical Business Advisors, Inc.
Suite # 5901 Wilbanks Drive
Norcross, Georgia USA 30092-1141
770.448.0769 (vm)

HELP: To Contact Us: Use the message box below:

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

MARCINKO’s New Risk Management and Asset Protection Textbook for MDs and Financial Advisors

Join Our Mailing List

Risk Management, Liability Insurance, and Asset Protection Strategies for Doctors and Advisors [Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners]

***

 Our New Text – “Take a Peek Inside 

Available – ORDER NOW!

***

Risk Management, Liability Insurance, and Asset Protection Strategies for Doctors and Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™8Risk Management, Liability Insurance, and Asset Protection Strategies for Doctors and Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™

***

Foreword by J. WESLEY BOYD MD PhD MA

logos

“BY DOCTORS – FOR DOCTORS – PEER REVIEWED – FIDUCIARY FOCUSED”

***

Book Reviews

“Physicians who don’t understand modern risk management, insurance, business and asset protection principles are sitting ducks waiting to be taken advantage of by unscrupulous insurance agents and financial advisors; and even their own prospective employers or partners. This comprehensive volume from Dr. David Marcinko, and his co-authors, will go a long way toward educating physicians on these critical subjects that were never taught in medical school or residency training.”
—Dr. James M. Dahle, MD, FACEP, Editor of The White Coat Investor, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

“With time at a premium, and so much vital information packed into one well organized resource, this comprehensive textbook should be on the desk of everyone serving in the healthcare ecosystem. The time you spend reading this frank and compelling book will be richly rewarded.”
—Dr. J. Wesley Boyd, MD, PhD, MA, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

“Physicians have more complex liability challenges to overcome in their lifetime, and less time to do it, than other professionals. Combined with a focus on practicing their discipline, many sadly fail to plan for their own future. They need trustworthy advice on how to effectively protect themselves, families and practice, from the many overt and covert risks that could potentially disrupt years of hard work.
Fortunately, this advice is contained within ‘Risk Management, Liability Insurance, And Asset Protection Strategies For Doctors And Advisors: Best Practices From Leading Consultants And Certified Medical Planners™’. Written by Dr. David Edward Marcinko, Nurse Hope Rachel Hetico and their team of risk managers, accountants, insurance agents, attorneys and physicians, it is uniquely positioned as an integration of applied, academic and peer-reviewed strategies and research, with case studies, from top consultants and Certified Medical Planners™. It contains the latest principles of risk management and asset protection strategies for the specific challenges of modern physicians. My belief is that any doctor who reads and applies even just a portion of this collective wisdom will be fiscally rewarded. The Institute of Medical Business Advisors has produced another outstanding reference for physicians that provide peace of mind in this unique marketplace! In my opinion, it is a mandatory read for all medical professionals.”
—David K. Luke, MS-PFP, MIM, CMP™, Net Worth Advisory Group, Inc., Sandy, Utah, USA

“This book is a well-constructed, comprehensive and experiential view of risk management throughout the entire medical practice life-cycle. It is organized in an accessible, high-yield style that is familiar to doctors. Each chapter has case models, examples and insider tips and useful pearls. I was pleased to see multi-degreed physicians sharing their professional experiences in a textbook on something other than clinical medicine. I can’t decide if this book is right on – over the top – or just plain prescient. Now, after a re-read, I conclude it is all of the above; and much more.”
—Dr. Peter P. Sidoriak, Pottsville, Pennsylvania, USA

“When a practicing physician thinks about their risk exposure resulting from providing patient care, medical malpractice risk immediately comes to mind. But; malpractice and liability risk is barely the tip of the iceberg, and likely not even the biggest risk in the daily practice of medicine. There are risks from having medical records to keep private, risks related to proper billing and collections, risks from patients tripping on your office steps, risks from medical board actions, risk arising from divorce, and the list goes on and on. These liabilities put a doctor’s hard earned assets and career in a very vulnerable position. This new book from Dr. David Marcinko and Prof. Hope Hetico shows doctors the multiple types of risk they face and provides examples of steps to take to minimize them. It is written clearly and to the point, and is a valuable reference for any well-managed practice. Every doctor who wants to take preventive action against the risks coming at them from all sides needs to read this book.”
—Richard Berning, MD, FACC, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

“This is an excellent companion book to Dr. Marcinko’s Comprehensive Financial Planning Strategies For Doctors And Advisors: Best Practices from Leading Consultants and Certified Medical Planners™. It is all inclusive yet easy to read with current citations, references and much frightening information. I highly recommend this text. It is a fine educational and risk management tool for all doctors and medical professionals.”
—Dr. David B. Lumsden, MD, MS, MA, Orthopedic Surgeon, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

“This comprehensive text book provides an in-depth presentation of the cyber security and real risk management, asset protection and insurance issues facing all medical profession today. It is far beyond the mere medical malpractice concerns I faced when originally entering practice decades ago.”
—Dr. Barbara s. Schlefman, DPM, MS, Family Foot Care, PA, Tucker, Georgia, USA

“Am I over-insured and thus wasting money? Am I under-insured and thus at risk for a liability or other disaster? I never really had the means of answering these questions; until now.”
—Dr. Lloyd M. Krieger, MD, MBA, Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery, Beverly Hills, California, USA

“I read and use this book, and several others, from Dr. David Edward Marcinko and his team of advisors.”
—Dr. John Kelley, DO, Orthopedic Surgeon, Tucker, Georgia, USA

“An important step in the risk management, insurance planning and asset protection process is the assessment of needs. One can create a strong foundation for success only after all needs have been analyzed so that a plan can be constructed and then implemented. This book does an excellent job of recognizing those needs and addressing strategies to reduce them.
—Shikha Mittra, MBA, CFP®, CRPS®, CMFC®, AIF®, President – Retire Smart Consulting LLC, Princeton, New Jersey, USA

“The Certified Medical Planner™ professional designation and education program was created by the Institute of Medical Business Advisors Inc., and Dr. David Edward Marcinko and his team (who wrote this book). It is intended for financial advisors who aim specifically to serve physicians and the medical community. Content focuses not only on the insurance and professional liability issues relevant to physicians, but also provides an understanding of the risky business of medical practice so advisors can help work more successfully with their doctor-clients.”
—Michael E. Kitces, MSFS, MTAX, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, CASL, http://www.Kitecs.com, Reston, Virginia, USA

“I have read this text and used consulting services from the Institute of Medical Business of Advisors, Inc. on several occasions.”
—Dr. Marsha Lee, DO, Radiologists, Norcross, Georgia, USA

“The medical education system is grueling and designed to produce excellence in medical knowledge and patient care. What it doesn’t prepare us for is the slings and arrows that come our way once we actually start practicing medicine. Successfully avoiding these land mines can make all the difference in the world when it comes to having a fulfilling practice. Given the importance of risk management and mitigation, you would think these subjects would be front and center in both medical school and residency – ‘they aren’t.’ Thankfully, the brain trust over at iMBA Inc., has compiled this comprehensive guide designed to help you navigate these mine fields so that you can focus on what really matters – patient care.”
—Dennis Bethel, MD, Emergency Medicine Physician

MORE: FRONT MATTER Risk Management

***

business-valuation1

***

Invite Dr. Marcinko

***