Draffin & Tucker partner Steve Bedsole spoke to the Georgia Association for Primary Health Care on the new updates to Medicare cost reports during their annual conference on October 13-15, 2015. During the presentation, Steve discussed cost reports and why they are still important for healthcare organizations under the new reimbursement model. He also addressed strategies available, key points to consider regarding the new updates and where CMS may be going with new cost report and reimbursement methods.
Key takeaways for healthcare organizations regarding the new updates to cost report forms include: ensure charges exceed prospective payment system (PPS) rates, ensure visits are properly identified for adjustments (New Patient, Initial Preventive Physical Exams, and Annual Wellness Visit adjustments), properly account for Graduate Medical Education (GME), identify and account for Medicare bad debts including crossover bad debts, and be sure to identify and track vaccine costs. If all of these actions are taken, healthcare organizations can effectively improve their reimbursement rates.
For more information on ensuring accuracy of your organization’s cost reports and improving reimbursement rates, please contact Steve Bedsole at sbedsole@draffin-tucker.com or (404) 220-8494.