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Sunflower Seedlings / Thrive / Summer 2016
Points of Interest
Chapter Officers
Board of Directors
Job Posting: CFO
Presidents Message
We've Gone Social!
Free Registration!
18 Key Points
Region 8 Connection
Roadshow Update
Photo Gallery
KHA Update
Notes From Day
New Members
Webinars
Quick Links
HFMA National
Sunflower HFMA
MASI - 2016 (Region 8)
Facebook Page
Twitter Page
LinkedIn Group
Save The Date
August 24-26, 2016
Region 8 Mid-America
Summer Institute
Minneapolis, MN
September 7-9, 2016
KHA Annual Convention
Overland Park, KS
October 25-27, 2016
Chargemaster Workshop
Quarterly Meeting
Wichita, KS
December 7, 2016
Quarterly Meeting
Topeka, KS
December 8-9, 2016
All Payers Workshop
Topeka, KS
For more information on the above events, Click Here
Sunflower
Chapter Officers
Josh Honn
President
(913) 341-8998
Laraine Gengler
President-Elect
(785) 227-3308
Danica Case
Secretary
(620) 343-6800 ext 5101
Allison Swaters
Treasurer
(816) 221-6300
Bill Lane
Past President
(785) 354-6825
Board of Directors
Julie Hatesohl - 2017
Audrey Dunkel - 2017
Gary Foll - 2018
Jason Barb - 2018
Linda Sherman - 2019
Karen Baliel - 2019
Tish Hollingsworth
(Non-Voting)
Job Posting: CFO
Who: Hunter Health Clinic
Where: Wichita, KS
Hunter Health Clinic, Inc., a full service community health center devoted to providing comprehensive, quality healthcare to all cultures in all walks of life, with competence, dignity and respect, is searching for a Chief Financial Officer. This is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to build a 'best-in-class' financial system and to help drive the organization's strategic plan.
For complete description,
Click Here
To apply, Click Here
Member Get A
Member Program
Invite your colleagues in hospitals, health plans, and physician practices to join HFMA. Let's work together to shape the future of health care.
To learn more about the Member-Get-A-Member Program and to find out how you can earn valuable rewards when you recruit new members,
Click Here
Or contact:
Nikki Esquibel
(620) 227-8510
Consolidation Likely to Continue Despite
DOJ, FTC Initiatives
Andis Robeznieks, HFMA Contributing Writer
At least some healthcare providers viewed the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ's) recent efforts to block two health insurance company megamergers "with a little bit of relief," according to an industry advisor.
Those federal actions also may provide clues as to how regulators will view healthcare merger and acquisition activity or how organizations may use acquisitions to adapt to healthcare transformation, Anu Singh, managing director at Kaufman Hall management consultants, said in an interview.
Before the DOJ took action, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) moved to block major health system mergers in Illinois and Pennsylvania. There would be more concern in the industry if the government fought health system consolidation while letting health plan mergers go unchallenged, Singh said...
To Finish Andis's article,
Click Here
Sum Total of Readmission Penalties Increases, but Fewer Hospitals Affected
Rich Daly, HFMA Senior Writer/Editor
The number of hospitals penalized under Medicare's Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) will fall in the coming fiscal year, even as total cuts increase by more than $100 million.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS) estimated in thefinal rulefor the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) released this week that 2,588 out of 3,450 hospitals, or 75 percent, will have their base operating DRG payments cut under HRRP by a total of $528 million in FY17. In the current fiscal year, 2,666 hospitals out of 3,466, or 77 percent, had payments cut by $420 million under HRRP.
In April'sproposed rulefor IPPS, CMS had estimated HRRP would cut payments to 2,603 hospitals by $523 million.
HRRP, which was created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), requires cuts in hospitals' base operating DRG payments to account for what CMS determines are "excess readmissions."
CMS credited the $108 million increase in HRRP cuts relative to the current fiscal year to a refinement of the pneumonia readmissions measure, "which expanded the measure cohort," along with the addition of a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) readmission measure to the payment adjustment calculation.
The FY17 cut is based on a hospital's risk-adjusted readmission rate during a three-year period (July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2015) for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), total hip arthroplasty/total knee arthroplasty, and CABG.
The HRRP cuts in FY17 were capped at 3 percent of base inpatient payments. Fifty hospitals will receive the maximum 3 percent penalty in FY17, an increase from 39 hospitals that received the same cut in FY16. Additionally, 180 hospitals will have their Medicare payments cut by at least 2 percent in FY17, compared with 114 in FY16. And 685 hospitals will have their payments cut by at least 1 percent, up from 515 hospitals the year before.
For FY17, the mean penalty for affected hospitals will be 0.53 percent, an increase from 0.42 percent in FY16. The average cut of about $204,000 in FY17 is a 30 percent increase from about $157,000 in FY16.
The number of eligible hospitals that avoided a cut will increase to 852 from 801 in the current fiscal year...
To Finish Rich's article,
Click Here
Growing EHR
Adoption Despite Persistent Problems
Andis Robeznieks, HFMA Contributing Writer
Use of electronic health records (EHRs) among hospital-owned physician practices is trending toward universal adoption, but problems persist with interoperability and unplanned service disruptions, according to recent reports.
Meanwhile, calls are getting louder for a national entity to investigate health IT safety incidents--much like the National Transportation Safety Board looks into the root causes of airline and railroad accidents.
EHR adoption among hospital-owned practices is now around 92 percent, while freestanding practices have a 72 percent adoption rate, according to the HIMSS Analytics 2016 Outpatient PM & EHR Solution Essentials Brief.
These rates have helped physician practices position themselves to address broader patient needs and evolving regulations that will come with implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reorganization Act (MACRA), according to the brief.
But, "there's still a lot to do," said Brendan FitzGerald, director of research at HIMSS Analytics.
FitzGerald noted that, while lagging behind hospital-owned practices, EHR adoption among independent practices has seen a dramatic increase since a rate of around 30 percent was reported in 2010. He sees EHRs helping physicians navigate new MACRA regulations, as well helping them find their way with advanced alternative payment models, accountable care organizations, and bundled payments.
The brief also noted that 15 percent of practices are planning a near-term purchase of a new system or replacement of their existing EHR.
But service can be interrupted. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) inspector generalreportfound that 59 percent of hospitals reported an unplanned EHR interruption with about a quarter of those resulting in delays of patient care.
To Finish Andis's article,
Click Here
Physician, IT Workers Drive Hospital Jobs
Rich Daly, HFMA Senior Writer/Editor
Hiring by hospitals in recent years was driven by efforts to add physician and IT employees, according to a recent report by Congress's leading Medicare advisors.
From 2010 through 2014, hospitals' physician and surgeon employment surged 26 percent while employment of computer and math science pros jumped 18 percent, according to a recentreportfrom the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC).
The MedPAC analysis of U.S. Labor Department statistics noted that the changes came during a period when overall hospital employment increased by 1.7 percent.
"Growth in the overall number of hospital-employed physicians suggests that hospitals have been more active in recent years in hiring physicians directly," the report noted.
One indicator of the physician hiring trend was the finding that the number of physicians who are vertically consolidated with hospitals increased from 95,612 in 2007 to 181,787 in 2013, according to a Government Accountability Officereport. That reflected the shift seen elsewhere, including a 2014 nationalsurveyby the Physicians Foundation, in which 53 percent of physicians self-identified as employees, compared with 44 percent who did so in 2012.
Regarding IT employees, the report stated: "Growth in computer and math science positions may reflect hospitals' efforts to implement electronic health record systems."
The federal electronic health record incentive program, established by the 2009 stimulus law, had made $34.7 billion in meaningful use incentive payments as of May 2016, according to a recentreportby the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Of that total, $20.6 billion has gone to hospitals, $9.6 billion to Medicare and Medicaid physicians, and about $500 million to Medicare Advantage organizations.
Other hospital positions that grew rapidly during the period covered by the MedPAC report included:
- Physical and social science positions (16.5 percent)
- Pharmacists (12.5 percent)
- Business and finance positions (10.9 percent)
The decline in the number of nurses with less education came as hospital employment of registered nurses in the same period increased by 2.6 percent, or about 39,000 nurses. The split trend indicated "a continued shift toward employing nurses with a higher level of training," according to the MedPAC report....
To Finish Rich's article,
Click Here
Stay Connected
/
President's Message
Josh Honn, President 2016-17
I am excited to be writing my inaugural "Presidents Message" to the Sunflower Chapter. I am truly honored you have selected me to serve as your 2016-2017 President. As an active volunteer in the Sunflower HFMA chapter for the last 6 years, I've had the privilege to work with some of the most dedicated and talented healthcare professionals in the industry. During this year, our industry will continue to evolve and change; processes that worked in the past may no longer apply. With this in mind, the Sunflower Chapter will continue to provide educational opportunities designed to help you navigate these challenging times.
I want to take a moment and thank our Immediate Past President, Bill Lane. I couldn't have asked for a better mentor and under his leadership the chapter received two awards at the ANI awards banquet in Las Vegas. The chapter earned a Gold Award for Education and Bronze Award for Certification. Congratulations Bill for a fantastic year!
At this year's Leadership Training Conference, your chapter officers and select committee chairs had the opportunity to meet the newest National Chairperson, Mary Mirabelli. Mary's background in healthcare and her passion for HFMA is remarkable. Mary's 2016-2017 Theme is "THRIVE". She spoke to many of the challenges that our membership knows all too well. However, where there are challenges, there are great opportunities to THRIVE and to push ourselves to new limits. The Sunflower Board of Directors, Chapter Officers, Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs are committed to pushing ourselves to make sure that your membership needs are being met.
It's hard to believe but our 1st educational event for the year is already in the books. Our 22nd Annual Cost Report Workshop was held in Wichita on July 28th and 29th. Thank you to all of our speakers, volunteers, and business sponsors that helped make this event so successful. If you weren't able to attend, we hope to see you at an upcoming program. Here are a few to consider...August 24-26 Mid-America Summer Institute, October 25th-27th Chargemaster Workshop, December 7-9 All Payers Workshop. Mark your calendars....
While the above programs have given our chapter national recognition in excellence, we are working on some exciting projects to bring even more educational opportunities to our membership. These projects include; Educational Roadshow (coming to a town near you), Women in Leadership Conference, revamped website, social media platform (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Chapter App) .... real time communication and networking/mentoring opportunities. Stay tuned....
Finally, I want to thank the Chapter Officers, Board of Directors, Corporate Sponsors, and all of the program chairs and co-chairs. The countless hours that you put into this great organization has not gone unnoticed. I'm looking forward to working alongside everyone this year!
Stay Connected, Stay Engaged, and THRIVE!
Sincerely,
Josh Honn
President, 2016-2017
We've Gone Social!
That's right, we finally entered the 21st century and are working to make our presence known on Social Media. For that to work we need you, our members, to follow and like our pages, share them with your colleagues, your friends, but most of all - Contribute to the conversation!
Facebook: Sunflower Chapter HFMA
Under the events tab on our page, we will list our upcoming events. Please click on these events, mark that you're interested, and share on your timeline, your organization's timeline, or with your friends. The event page will provide you updates once you've marker yourself as attending or interested. The speakers for quarterly/annual meetings are there and we'll be sending more updates as they become available.
Twitter: @kshfma
Follow us!
#seriously #purtyplz
LinkedIn: Sunflower Chapter HFMA
Join our Group and add to the conversation!
Did you know we have an app?
Search: HFMA Kansas from your app store and click install/download. Get updates about our meetings, create posts, share photos, thank our sponsors, message other members, and so much more!
Interested in helping our Social Media Committee?
Contact Ruth Dewitt,
FREE Registration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Would you like a chance to win a free registration for our next Quarterly Meeting? If so, click the green button to take a short 4 question quiz. Those that answer all 4 questions correctly will be entered into a drawling for a chance to win one of two free registrations for our next Quarterly Meeting!
Notes/Rules:
- Registration can only be utilized at our next Sunflower Chapter Quarterly Meeting (October 2016)
- Must be a current Sunflower Chapter Member to be eligible to win
- Winners will be listed in our Fall Seedlings Newsletter
- Winners will be notified September 1st, 2016
18 Key Points About the New Overall Hospital Star Ratings
Rich Daly, HFMA Senior Writer/Editor
As expected, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday launched the previously delayed overall hospital quality star-ratingsystem.
Andy Slavitt, acting administrator for CMS, said in a tweet the ratings were released after "working closely" with hospital groups. However, hospital organizations two days earlier backedlegislationthat would require CMS to pull the ratings down. And hospital groups said they would continue working to have the ratings pulled down until their concerns about the methodology used to create the star system are addressed.
Regardless of whether the star system is eventually revised or removed, hospitals should know how the new rating system works.
Here are 18 key aspects of the new ratings system.
- The new rating summarizes data from existing quality measures that are publicly reported on the Hospital Compare website into a single star rating for each hospital.
- The new rating will include 64 of the more than 100 measures displayed on Hospital Compare.
- Hospitals are assessed only on the measures for which they submit data. Some hospitals may report as few as nine measures.
To finish Rich's article and see the remaining 15 key aspects, Click Here
Region 8 Connection
Bill Fenske, Regional Executive HFMA Region 8
Hello to the Chapters of Region 8:
This is my first newsletter to you and I am very proud and honored to be serving as your Region 8 Executive. My name is Bill Fenske and I am the incoming Region 8 Executive. It is a privilege to serve you and to work with so many dedicated volunteers. In my initial visits to some of the Chapters, I am so impressed by the commitment of your leaders and your members to continue serving HFMA and making HFMA the strongest professional association within the healthcare industry.
We have a lot going on in Region 8 led by the Mid-America Summer Institute August 24-26 in Minneapolis. I hope that you will consider attending as the Committee has done an excellent job in preparing a great educational program along with many networking opportunities. As a reminder to all members who work for providers that there is a Provider Scholarship available for conference registration and lodging. Please go to the Region 8 website at hfmaregion8.org for further information.
I am very pleased that Kyle Lee, your Region Executive Elect, and I will be working to visit all of the Chapters this upcoming year. We have been in contact with your Chapter leaders and are working our schedules to attend at least one Chapter event during the year. As I mentioned above, I have already visited a couple of Chapters that are new to me and was very impressed and pleased by the experience. I hope that as you see us, you will reach out and introduce yourself and feel free to ask any questions that you may have about HFMA, Region 8, or National HFMA.
So what does a Region Executive do besides travel to Chapter events? There are five main responsibilities of the Region Executive and Executive Elect:
- To serve as the primary volunteer and policy liaison between the Chapters and HFMA National.
- To assist chapter leaders in serving its members.
- To foster dialogue and effective communications between HFMA National and the local Chapter.
- To represent the needs and interests of chapter leaders to the HFMA National Board and management.
- To encourage chapters to collaborate with each other and with other organizations