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Affordable health care act provisions
Strengths and weaknesses of the affordable care act as a reform to the existing u.s. healthcare system
Affordable health care for america act
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There is a lot of talk on changes in the payment system for rehabilitation services in the skilled nursing industry. Different propositions are being tested and deliberated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) to replace the current Prospective Payment System (PPS). The current PPS system has evolved throughout the years to very complicated and cumbersome layers of rules and regulations. Reimbursement is driven by services provided. There is a shift in the U.S. healthcare system with the advent of the Affordable Care Act to make health care more efficient, less costly, and produce better outcomes. The proposed replacement for the current PPS system is called Resident Classification System – 1 (RCS -1). CMS released the
The IPPS or the inpatient prospective payment system refers to a system of payment which includes the diagnosis-related groups’ cases as acute care hospital inpatients. This system is based on resources which are utilized when treating Medicare recipients belonging to these groups. Each diagnosis-related group (DRG) comprise of a payment weight. The IPPS serves an integral role when it comes to deciding the overall hospital costs of all the devices used to treat the patient in within a specific inpatient stay.
Phase I addressed basic statutory definitions, general prohibitions, and explanations of what constitutes a financial relationship between a physician and a health care entities providing DHS’. Phase II deals with the regulatory exceptions, reporting requirements, and public comments pertaining to Phase I. Finally, Phase III Final Regulations were published in September of 2007, and largely addressed comments made after publication of the Phase II rules and regulations. It also reduced some of the regulations placed upon the healthcare industry by explaining and modifying some of the exceptions related to financial relationships between physicians and DHS entities where there is minimal risk of abuse to the patient, Medicare or Medicaid.
Furthermore, uncertainty of new reimbursement models, diminishing reimbursement, and complicated compliance regulations are playing the role of a catalyst for streamlining the Chargemaster process in majority of healthcare organizations. A good example of these challenges was prompted by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid with the release of data and chargemasters from several healthcare facilities. The release of the chargemasters sends a wave shock across the healthcare industry as it depicts a huge price discrepancies among health care providers, and due to this exposure many healthcare organizations attempt to rectify their charges. The main purpose the CMS release the chargemasters was to encourage transparency in hospital’s billing
Abbey, D. C. (2010). Healthcare payment systems: Fee schedule payment systems. CRC Press. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=1uxIcqBAu_EC&dq=fee schedule payment system&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Pay-for-performance (P4P) is the compensation representation that compensates healthcare contributors for accomplishing pre-authorized objectives for the delivery of quality health care assistance by economic incentives. P4P is increasingly put into practice in the healthcare structure to support quality enhancements in healthcare systems. Thus, pay-for-performance can be seen as a means of attaching financial incentives to the main objectives of clinical care. However, reimbursement is a managed care payment by a third party to a beneficiary, hospital or other health care providers for services rendered to an insured or beneficiary. This paper discusses how reimbursement can be affected by the pay-for-performance approach and how system cost reductions impact the quality and efficiency of healthcare. In addition, it also addresses how pay-for-performance affects different healthcare providers and their customers. Finally, there will also be a discussion on the effects pay-for-performance will have on the future of healthcare.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have recently begun requiring hospitals to report to the public how they are doing on patient care. Brown, Donaldson and Storer Brown (2008) introduce and explain how facilities can use quartile dashboards to transform large amounts of data into easy to read and understandable tool to be used for reporting as well as to determine areas in need of improvement. By looking at a sample dashboard for an inpatient rehab unit a greater understanding of dashboards and their benefits can be seen. The sample dashboard includes four general areas, including nurse sensitive service line/unit specific indicators, general indicators, patient satisfaction survey indicators and NDNQI data. The overall performance was found to improve over time. There were areas with greater improvement such as length of stay, than others including RN care hours and pressure ulcers. The areas of pressure ulcers and falls did worse the final quarter and can be grouped under the general heading of patient centered nursing care. The area of patient satisfaction saw a steady improvement over the first three quarters only to report the worst numbers the final quarter. A facility then takes the data gathered and uses it to form nursing plan...
There was a time many years ago when the passing of a relative always seemed to be the eldest member of the family such as the grandmother, grandfather, great-grandmother or great-grandfather. Not too many times would one see a young person die or being killed very often. In the song “The Leaning Tree”, gospel artist Win Thompkins addresses this as no longer being true because young people are dying just about everyday. Throughout the song , he states that “the leaning tree” ,symbolizing an older person, is not always the first to fall or in other words die. Thompkins also states throughout the song that anyone’s time could be soon no matter the age or condition. He then shares a brief story about a righteous old man who saw his children pass
Medicare part A payment reimbursement is done through a Prospective payment system (PPS). Under the PPS Medicare payment is based on a predetermined, fixed amount. In order to determine the payment amount for a particular service different classification systems are used based on setting type 6. In fact, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services (CMS) use separate PPSs all together for reimbursement to acute inpatient hospitals, home health agencies, hospice, hospital outpatient, inpatient psychiatric facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term care hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities 6. Since implementation of the PPS to each of these settings, healthcare providers (i.e. Physical Therapists) have faced many challenges.
Since the 1990’s, the interest in nursing and the profession as a whole has decreased dramatically and is still expected to do so over the next 10-15 years according to some researchers. With this nursing shortage, many factors are affected. Organizations have to face challenges of low staffing, higher costs for resources, recruiting and reserving of registered nurses, among liability issues as well. Some of the main issues arising from this nurse shortage are the impact of quality and continuity of care, organizational costs, the effect it has on nursing staff, and etc. However, this not only affects an organization and community, but affects the nurses the same. Nurses are becoming overwhelmed and are questioning the quality of care that each patient deserves. This shortage is not an issue that is to be taken lightly. The repercussions that are faced by both nurses and the organization are critical. Therefore, state funding should be implemented to private hospitals in order to resolve the shortage of nurses. State funds will therefore, relieve the overwhelming burdens on the staff, provide a safe and stress free environment for the patient, and allow appropriate funds needed to keep the facility and organization operational.
In recent times, healthcare organization across the nation are facing unprecedented challenges as they strive to improve the overall quality of care provided to their patient’s population, while improving their organization’s financial performance. Furthermore, uncertainty of new reimbursement models, diminishing reimbursement, and complicated compliance regulations are playing the role of a catalyst for streamlining the Chargemaster process in majority of healthcare organizations.
In 1983, the Medicare prospective payment program was implemented, which allowed hospitals to be reimbursed a set payment based on the patient’s diagnosis, or Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG), regardless of what treatment was provided or how long the patient was hospitalized (Jacob & Cherry, 2007).... ... middle of paper ... ... Case Management Related to Other Nursing Care Delivery Models.
There has been a drastic cut in both the Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates. According to Robert (2012), “cuts of more than $360 billion to Medicare and Medicaid will be made over the next 10 years. The focus of nursing needs to emphasize more on wellness care and prevention rather than acute care” (McNeal, G., 2012). Nursing practice will need to shift more towards community and population focused nursing. Baccalaureate prepared nurses are provided with a curriculum that includes both community health and leadership skills that are not included in the associate program. By encouraging associate’s degree nurses to obtain a bachelor’s degree in nursing, an increase in the awareness of the needs of the community and population may be seen. The IOM report has outlined the anticipated obstacles that healthcare will face if changes are not made. By allowing nurses to provide care within their full scope of practice, quality care may be provided at an affordable cost to the population. The use of advanced practice nurses in primary care may provide quality, access, and cost efficient healthcare to high-risk populations and possibly decrease hospital admission rates, thus lowering the overall cost of healthcare. If nurses partner with doctors and other healthcare providers, it may improve healthcare by providing seamless transitions (Institute of Medicine,
There are several factors that contribute to the complexity of the revenue cycle. Frequent changes in contracts with payers, legislative mandates, and managed care are just a few examples of reasons why revenue cycle in the healthcare industry is so complex. Furthermore, the problems that arise in the steps of the revenue cycle further complicate the whole process. For example, going through the steps of the revenue cycle efficiently is extremely difficult when it is managed by poorly trained personnel. Furthermore, if a healthcare provider does not have the proper information system to track patient records and billing, receiving reimbursement can become difficult. In addition, one of the main factors that delay payments is denial from the insurance companies. The reason for Denial includes incorrect coding, the certain sequence of care and medical necessity or even delay in submitting claims. Lastly, inefficient patient correspondence can not only hinder the process of revenue cycle but also result in many patient complaints (Wolper, 2004).
reimbursement determinations. As a result, the camaraderie among physicians has developed into a more aggressive approach to impede competition (Shi & Singh, 2012). Little information is shared with patients in regards to procedures or disease control. The subjects are forced to rely on the internet for enlightenment on the scope of their illnesses (Shi & Singh, 2012). Furthermore, the U.S. health care system fails to provide adequate knowledge on billing strategies for operations and other medical practices. The cost in a free system is based on supply and demand and is known in advance of hospital admission (Shi & Singh, 2012). The need for new technology is another characteristic that is of interest when considering the health care system. Technology is often v...
There are many different types of students. All students have their own way of studying and learning material. A student’s attitude is the most determining factor in how well a student performs academically. Some students are eager to learn and try their best; however, some students could care less about learning. Each year students decide whether they will succeed or fail in school. All students fall into one category or another. Students can be classified into three categories: Overachievers, Average Joes, and Do Not Give a Rips.