Category: ASC Coding, Billing and Collections

Nursing facility, management company settle physician kickback allegations for $3.8M

Alta Vista Healthcare & Wellness Centre, a skilled nursing facility in Riverside, Calif., and its management company, Rockport Healthcare Services, agreed to pay the U.S. and California $3.825 million to resolve kickback allegations.

Where are physicians losing money?

Eleven percent of physicians attribute financial losses to practice issues such as business problems, reimbursement changes and a change in practice setting, according to Medscape’s “Physician Wealth & Debt Report 2023.”

18 states with the most medical debt

The Commonwealth Fund released the 2023 Scorecard State Health System Performance report, examining quality healthcare access and affordability by state.

Physicians say HCA hospitals push patients to hospice care for metrics 

Physicians have alleged that executives within Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare pressure hospital staff to persuade patients’ families to initiate end-of-life care to boost metrics, according to claims made in a June 21 NBC News report. 

How a new Stark Law exception could help physicians

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 updated exceptions to Stark Law and Anti-Kickback law that will allow hospitals and healthcare providers to improve mental health services for physicians, attorneys from law firm ArentFox Schiff wrote in an a…

Optum plans for continued hip, knee ASC volume growth

OptumHealth’s network of providers and surgery centers is seeing strong outpatient surgery volumes, especially for hips, knees and senior services.

How physician can become 'captains of their own fates' once more

Harry Severance, MD, an adjunct assistant professor at Durham, N.C.-based Duke University School of Medicine, joined Becker’s to discuss how physicians can leverage their power. 

ASCs' shrinking reimbursements: 5 notes to know 

ASCs are facing declining reimbursements as operating costs soar. 

Outpatient site-neutral pay pitched (again) to CMS: 5 notes

MedPAC advocated for site-neutral pay for 66 outpatient procedures in a June 15 report, lowering 57 procedures to the office-based care rate and nine procedures to ASC rates.

5 antikickback suits to know

Here are five healthcare antikickback cases to know from the last month: