Here are 10 industry takeaways for revenue cycle leaders to know from September.
1. Tenet's Conifer contracted for RCM at 11 WellStar hospitals
In July, Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare's revenue cycle subsidiary, Conifer Health Solutions, started serving six additional WellStar Health System hospitals.
2. UnitedHealth's Optum takes over Quest Diagnostics' billing processes
UnitedHealth Group's revenue cycle management arm, Optum, struck a 10-year deal with lab giant Quest Diagnostics.
3. Medicare audits up 936% in last 5 years
Third party recovery audit contractors are harnessing the power of big data and analytics to dramatically grow their auditing capabilities.
4. California governor signs balance billing legislation
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed into law a bill that aims to prevent patients from receiving unexpected medical bills from physicians not covered by a patient's health plan.
5. HHS names winners of medical bill design contest
HHS revealed the winners of its "A Bill You Can Understand" contest, a challenge to healthcare professionals to design a more simple, consumer-friendly medical bill to address consumers' current frustrations when it comes to healthcare billing.
6. CarePoint sues Horizon for $76M in unpaid, underpaid medical bills
Jersey City, N.J.-based CarePoint Health filed a federal lawsuit against Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, alleging the payer owes CarePoint $76 million in unpaid and underpaid claims.
7. Surgeons protest CMS proposal requiring them to code every 10 minutes
Surgeons are speaking out against a Medicare proposal that would require them to use new billing codes to track their work in 10-minute increments during global surgical "packages" that span 10 days and 90 days.
8. Senior finance executives name their top 10 RCM initiatives
Senior finance executives at hospitals named certain revenue cycle initiatives that they have made an operational priority in the next year.
9. Black Book Rankings: 25 top RCM outsourcing vendors
Black Book Rankings released its 2016 rankings of financial and revenue cycle management systems and services.
10. 'Presumptive eligibility' causes charity care spike in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania hospitals doubled the average percentage of charity care they provide in the last eight years largely due to the increased use of presumptive eligibility tools