Bad debt makes for many a sleepless night. Yet, even as the figures continue to rise at an alarming rate, I am surprised that many healthcare organizations have yet to embrace the philosophy of asking for payment prior to services being rendered. Read full story
It's a delicate balance – meeting consumers' demand for pre-care estimates and pricing they can understand while satisfying providers' strategic and competitive objectives. The American Hospital Association recommends six steps to do just that. Read full story
The patient checks in, the procedure takes place, the recovery begins and then the pain – patient financial liability pain, that is. This scenario, repeated over the last two decades, has generated a frustration from patients that has grown from meek resignation to outright indignation, prompting lawsuits, state and federal legislation, consumer driven healthcare and health savings accounts. Read full story
Tweaking the revenue stream by imposing across-the-board increases or by raising some prices and cutting others can result in prices that are unreasonable, irrational and difficult to defend – and no provider can afford to be in that position. Learn how to take an incremental, multi-year approach to bringing prices in line. Read full story
America's healthcare delivery system is ailing and many hospitals feel "under attack" by a multitude of seemingly insurmountable problems: a growing uninsured population, rising consumer discontent with high prices for drugs and services, and the call for pricing transparency. Find out how one Florida hospital has learned to deal effectively with the rise of consumerism. Read full story
This week, Health Affairs published a report entitled "National Health Spending in 2005: The Slowdown Continues". While the emphasis was on the decreasing rate of health care spending increases, the more significant portion of the article deals with so-called "out of pocket" expenditures. Here's how preemptive moves to embrace and implement Patient Friendly Estimates™ upfront can "take the mystery out of the hospital bill." Read full story
After years of deploying such techniques as cross subsidization, most hospital chargemasters reflect irrational prices. As a consequence, in the new era of consumer driven healthcare and heightened sensitivity to hospital prices, many hospitals cannot accurately provide a patient with an estimated bill at the point-of-service. What has created this irrationality? How can healthcare financial managers deal with the issues behind transparent pricing? Learn how clear-cut strategies can help you arrive at defensible pricing for your organization. Read full story
Harry Wessel, a staff writer for the Orlando Sentinel, reported recently on a lawsuit being brought by State Farm against Florida Hospital over the issue of hospital rates versus costs. Posted on the newspaper's Web site, March 12, 2007, Wessel's story reports on a case that is making its way through Florida's legal system. Read full story
Two new Web sites have been launched recently to help consumers make informed choices regarding price and quality of hospital services in New Jersey. Read full story
Do you find your hospital laboratories competing against outside reference labs for outpatient business? The issue of competing against a reference lab highlights many of the factors and constraints in developing a rational, transparent pricing set. Price also interacts with patient convenience and market positioning to determine the value proposition in selection of a lab service. Read full story
The importance of engaging consumers to be more responsible in managing their health and in the purchasing of their healthcare services is a commonly shared belief among industry stakeholders – employers, health plans and providers. These same stakeholders further believe that transparency in pricing and quality is the first step to remedy the woes plaguing America's healthcare system. Read full story
