Hospitals are increasingly challenged to meet their Emergency Department (ED) and trauma center coverage requirements. This challenge has been enhanced by the shortage of specialty physicians in certain markets, and the increasing number of physicians unwilling to provide the coverage, due to quality-of-life issues, reimbursement pressures, and increased malpractice liability related to emergency care. Therefore, […]
As one of the largest health system cost centers and one with significant regulatory implications, physician compensation should be top priority. A comprehensive approach to physician compensation enables the organization to recruit and retain physician talent, align physician incentives with those of the organization to drive performance, and maintain an infrastructure to mitigate risk associated […]
By now you’ve probably read (whether published by Veralon or another source) that there were significant changes made to the 2021 Medicare physician fee schedule (PFS). The entire program was originally intended to be budget neutral, but reimbursement was restructured to increase payments to cognitive specialties (such as primary care and other medical specialties) and […]
In November 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a Special Fraud Alert related to speaker programs sponsored by pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Specifically, the Alert centered on the OIG’s significant and longstanding concerns regarding fraud and abuse risks associated with remuneration for such programs. Speaker programs—events […]
Please click here for the updated Physician Schedule Final Rule.
CMS announced proposed policy changes for Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and indicated that it will waive the 60-day publication requirement for the Final Rule and replace it with a 30-day notification. This means that the Final Rule will be effective January 1, 2021 even though it may not be published until December […]
There are a number of common beliefs about setting physician compensation that are pervasive. When closely examined, they turn out to be untrue. Once you know the facts, you can do a better job of establishing appropriate compensation structures and levels. Contact the Authors: Karin Chernoff Kaplan, Director, kkaplan@veralon.com Richard Chasinoff, Principal, rchasinoff@veralon.com
Independent physician practices took a financial beating during the first months of COVID-19—and not just due to postponement of elective procedures. Today, consumers remain fearful of returning to a physician office environment, with office visits down 20 to 30 percent compared with pre-COVID levels. Now, many of these practices are coming to hospitals to make […]
As hospitals and health systems navigate a tumultuous economic environment following the COVID-19 outbreak, the need for standardized, value-based physician compensation plans has intensified. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the median operating loss per health system-employed physician continues to be staggering. Many factors contribute to financial losses on employed physicians – costs related to physician […]