respond to at least
two of your peer postings listed below in a minimum of 1-2 paragraphs.
Antwan Mabry
I always assumed hospitals generated the most revenue by “putting heads in beds.” According to Steve Febus, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Febus states that 66 percent of Pullman Regional Hospital’s income was generated from outpatient services, followed by 23 percent inpatient and 11 percent from medical groups. Furthermore, Febus discusses negative and positive margins. When talking about negative margins, he alludes to medical groups, transitional care units, home health, ICU, etc. When discussing positive margins, he alludes to imaging, surgery, pharmacy, women’s health, lab, etc. Technology advancements in clinical care delivery are primarily to blame for this. Furthermore, it will likely continue to accelerate in the following years because of innovations like virtual health, predictive analytics, and digital consumer apps.
Dr. Bricker’s summary of Febus’ Healthcare Finance 101 lecture was impressive. In his summary, he alludes that eliminating healthcare waste would mean eliminating jobs, as people/staff make up most of a hospital’s budget. I don’t see this as an option to eliminate financial waste. As Febus mentioned, retaining the staff onboard is a lot easier than constantly rehiring and retraining new individuals.
What surprised me was the frequency at which patients shopped for a better price concerning outpatient services. As an active duty service member, services such as MRIs and X-rays were little to no concern of mine. Active duty personnel is not charged premiums for coverage, nor do we pay out-of-pocket costs for medical care and prescriptions. So, listening to Febus explain the impact of setting prices within the market.
Reference
Febus, S. (2017, May 23).
Healthcare Finance 101 with Steve Febus. Retrieved from YouTube:
Janelle Ferrer
The healthcare system is becoming more complex due to some anticipated changes in technological advancements, healthcare delivery, global crisis, and different payment models. These are some contributing factors and challenges faced by many healthcare administrators discussed in the video by Steve Fubus (Pullman Regional Hospital, 2017).
One of the many issues I would like to discuss further is the delayed insurance claim payments. Steve Fubus talked about this when he was discussing the revenue cycle. Balancing patient expectations with payer expectations can be a headache. If a patient believes they should be covered for service. Still, if their payer declines authorization due to something in the medical record, the burden of educating the patient about their financial responsibility falls to the provider. Healthcare administrators are challenged with providing healthcare services to these patients while maintaining fiscal responsibility. The healthcare industry has become more complex, and with that comes difficulty in getting a high claim reimbursement percentage outright.
Another issue highlighted was how fewer patients seek care, increased expenses, revenue losses, and staff shortages lead to financial storm healthcare systems. In some cases, shortages of doctors and nurses can force hospitals to rely on staffing firms where increased demand for healthcare has driven a steep rise in prices. I believe this is where a healthcare admin plays a significant role in how to make a plan or strategy to keep staff in the organization, at the same find solutions to safeguard the financial health and well-being of US Hospitals.
One concept that surprised me was cost shifting. Steve Fubus mentioned that Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements are lower than the actual cost of providing healthcare services. Businesses are falling short of their revenue and are limited to the amount of money they receive from Medicaid and Medicare. As a result, cost shifting leads to different prices for different groups.
Reference
Pullman Regional Hospital. (2017, May 23).
Healthcare Finance 101 with Steve Febus [Video]. YouTube.