Thursday, August 31, 2017

Changes in the Eligibility for Medicaid May Be Underway



As more Americans are expressing a newfound public appreciation and public awareness for Medicaid, it seems like certain changes to the program, including eligibility for Medicaid are on the horizon. According to Medicaid's executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors Matt Salo, this is critical for the program's future. He also acknowledged that it’s now up to the states to bolster Medicaid in such a way that it becomes holistic, value-driven and most of all, better coordinated for the program's most needy beneficiaries.

Recent Attempt to Cut Medicaid Budget Failed

Recently, GOP congressional proposals have been aimed at one thing: to place a ceiling on the federal spending for Medicaid. This is intended to be part of the group's effort to overthrow the Affordable Care Act, a goal they have failed to meet yet again just recently. If they had succeeded, Medicaid would have lost as much as $834 billion in funding. Read more from this blog: http://bit.ly/2xRflYW

The Importance of Intimate Staff Meetings in Hospital Revenue Cycle Management



A hospital’s finance department consists of staff with various responsibilities. This means that each accounts receivable employee has different experiences and challenges in doing their work. Understanding this allows managers to focus on each individual to address issues in a way tailored to their needs to improve hospital revenue cycle management.

According to Susan Eilman, a senior healthcare consultant at Hayes Management Consulting, one-on-one meetings can be a powerful tool to increase individual productivity, creating a more efficient department. Such meetings enable hospitals to utilize listening as a tool to point out issues that may not be discovered through a larger-scale discussion. Read more from this blog: http://bit.ly/2yaAIW7

Saturday, August 19, 2017

With Looming Budget Cuts, Getting Approved for Disability Social Security Can Become Tougher



For people living with disabilities, it’s been a case of “do you want the good news or bad news first.” Let’s begin with the good: based on several reports the lifetime of the Social Security Trust Fund has been deemed slightly healthier. This means the fund will have enough money to support the agency’s initiatives until 2028—a full five years longer than initial forecasts.

Now the bad news: the larger-than-expected fund is caused by a massive backlog in social security applications and payouts. It’s been revealed that people who have been rejected previously for disability social security benefits have to wait a record 596 days or 19.5 months before hearing anything back. This is up from 545 days in September of last year, and markedly longer than the 353 processing days in took in 2012 -- an increase of over 54%. Read more from this blog: http://bit.ly/2wOj5eD


Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Eligibility for Social Security Disability Taking Much Longer Due to Hearings


For many people, getting social security disability benefits can be a manner of life and death. That’s why any delay in finalizing the decision is a huge cause of stress. As it turns out, hearings for eligibility for social security disability have been slowing down to a painful crawl to the point that patients in line have to wait for several more months to get a decision.


The Long Road to a Decision

It can take many months just to get a schedule for a hearing. Once the date is set, however, it’s not even guaranteed that a decision will be made immediately. The average wait for a regular disability hearing averages 19 months, while the wait for decisions to be promulgated can take anywhere from 120 to 180 days. That’s another half year of waiting, time that people with serious conditions may not be able to afford. Read more from this blog: http://bit.ly/2verXuI

Monday, August 7, 2017

New GOP Proposal Raises Concerns About New Healthcare Insurance Marketplace Coverage Options


Recently, the GOP unveiled their big secret of a healthcare plan to the public. Instead of the warm welcome that they were anticipating, however, it only further stoked concern among citizens irrespective of party affiliation.

Is there cause for alarm on the GOP’s revised healthcare version, though? Here’s a closer look at what it does, and what is there to expect in the ‘Cruz Amendment.’


The Ted Cruz Amendment

In this new version, requirements for the new healthcare insurance marketplace coverage options appear to have gotten a lot less comprehensive than what is currently provided by the ACA. Here, the insurers could sell plans even if they are not all that comprehensive for as long as they also offer at least one ACA-compliant plan. Read more from this blog: http://bit.ly/2woRaS1

Friday, August 4, 2017

How the New GOP Proposal Can Possibly Affect Social Security Disability for Children


When the GOP unveiled their top secret Better Care Reconciliation Act in late June, which is supposedly their proud replacement for the existing Obamacare, a lot of alarm signals went off instead of celebratory ones. Most of the concerns had to do with how burdensome it’s going to be for those with the coverage, and how it essentially will leave millions without viable insurance coverage of their own.


Social Security Disability Today

One of the demographics sure to be affected are those on social security disability. The effect may not necessarily be a direct hit, but it’s there, nonetheless. It comes in the form of the removal of the Medicaid expansion, which was originally meant to cater to the needs of low-income individuals. Once this is repealed, many folks with disabilities will have difficulty finding access to proper healthcare benefits. Read more from this blog: http://bit.ly/2veTaOd

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Revenue Cycle Management Services and Its Relevance for the Future


If there’s any remaining doubt as to the relevance of revenue cycle management services to healthcare institutions, new research studies showing an upward trend for the industry in the next several years ought to quell them.

According to the studies, the global healthcare RCM market is projected to grow by as much as 5% in terms of compound annual growth rate (CAGR) come 2021. Because physicians are the biggest users of RCM software, it only goes to follow that they will also be the ones benefitting the most from this development.

With the implementation of upgraded and updated RCM services, they could easily improve on their overall processes and clear their administrative tasks more efficiently. The most obvious benefit coming from all of this is a better leeway to pay more attention and provide topnotch care to their patients who matter most. Read more from this blog: http://bit.ly/2wp6EoM