Balance billing and ways to improve revenue cycle performance captured the attention of Becker's Hospital Review revenue cycle management readers in 2016.
The following are among the most popular revenue cycle management stories from Becker's this year.
1. 7 healthcare leaders share advice for improving revenue cycle performance
The shift from payer reimbursement to patient reimbursement has major implications for revenue cycle management, forcing hospitals and health systems to abandon traditional processes for the adoption of patient-centric practices.
2. 20 things to know about balance billing
As payers and providers wage war over reimbursement rates for medical services, patients have been increasingly strapped with unanticipated healthcare bills that can have detrimental financial effects.
3. 43 states earn 'F' grade for healthcare price transparency
The Catalyst for Payment Reform and the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute released their annual report card on price transparency laws in July, and the report showed little progress from the year prior.
4. 20 most costly inpatient conditions
Total aggregate hospital costs for 35.6 million hospital stays totaled $381.4 billion in 2013, with 20 conditions accounting for nearly half of hospital costs, according to a statistical brief from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project.
5. 4 ways the Trump win could affect hospital revenue cycle
President-elect Donald Trump's proposed healthcare reforms could affect the hospital revenue cycle in four ways.
6. 7 things to know about provider-based billing
More than ever before, patients want to know the charges associated with their care, as they take on a greater share of their healthcare costs with higher deductibles and co-pays. One expense that is increasingly popping up is a facility fee, which occurs under a provider-based billing model.
7. Patients hit with surprise bills for 22% of in-network ER visits
Many patients receive surprise out-of-network bills for a visit to an in-network hospital's emergency room, according to research published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
8. Which physicians generate the most revenue for hospitals?
Hospital CFOs crunched the numbers to see how various physician specialties stack up according to the amount of revenue they generate for their affiliated hospital.
9. How health systems across the US are improving price transparency
Physician organizations, hospitals and health systems are under increasing pressure to deliver transparent, competitive pricing.
10. Beating the self-pay problem: How 3 hospitals developed patient loan programs
Hospitals and health systems are looking for creative ways to tackle a thorny and growing problem: how to collect self-pay accounts associated with a growing number of high-deductible health plans.
More articles on healthcare finance:
UMass Memorial points to Epic implementation for drop in operating income
How CHS, Tenet, UHS, LifePoint and HCA fared financially in 2016
CHI records $217.8M operating loss: 5 things to know