Hospice Cap Regulation Changes Effective October 1, 2011

By Maureen Laskowski 

Director, Simione Consultants

Benchmarking Your Revenue Cycle Management Performance

By Rob Simione

Senior Consultant, CPA, Simione Consultants

With another round of Medicare cuts looming in 2012 it is of the essence to track the performance of your agency's revenue cycle management.  The most important metric to calculate regarding revenue cycle management is Days Sales Outstanding (DSO).  DSO's should not only be compared internally but also with meaningful external benchmarks.  When comparing to external benchmarks always verify that the same calculation and components are used.  The Simione Financial Monitor DSO calculation is performed quarterly for clients.  The calculation consists of Net Accounts Receivable (not including deferred revenue) divided by direct net revenue then multiplied by 90 days (average days in quarter).  Based on the Simione Financial Monitor database the National DSO benchmark for June 30, 2011 was 59 days. 

  FINANCIAL "TIP"

Denial management is a tool that is often overlooked by agencies until a problem presents itself, typically when large write-offs are incurred. Denials decrease the speed of your cash flow and unnecessarily increase workloads for billing, managed care and insurance verification staff.

COST REPORT "TIP"  

Changes in the Hospice Cost Report 

By Maureen Laskowski

Director, Simione Consultants

CMS issued Transmittal 9 on September 21, 2011.

These changes become effective for cost reporting periods ending on or after July 31, 2011.

Key changes:

Renumbering of five cost centers on the Hospice cost report:

Be sure you are using an updated version of your hospice cost reporting software before creating the ECR file to submit to Medicare.

Reminder regarding Transmittal 8 which was addressed in our July newsletter, these changes also become effective for cost reporting periods on or after July 31, 2011.

You are required to report the following Inpatient General Care costs on Worksheet S-1 Part IV line 19:

• Cost of Drugs
• DME/Oxygen
• Medical Supplies

It is recommended that you establish separate general ledger accounts to capture these costs. Don't wait until year end to try to break out the costs.

Marketing, Sales &

Customer Service "TIP"  

HANDLING OBJECTIONS  

By Mike Ferris

Principal, Simione Consultants

In our industry, it doesn't matter if you're the CEO, the Sales Rep, the Admissions nurse, or the intake coordinator - you're going to encounter objections. One of the comments we hear back frequently from students of our Simione Square One Boot Camp is that they now feel confident they can go out and handle ANY objection. How would you like that same confidence and ability?