Craig, Colo.-based Memorial Regional Health will no longer manage billing and coding in-house, according to a Craig Daily Press report.
Here are seven things to know about the issue.
1. MRH officials informed staff April 25 of the decision to eliminate the hospital's billing and coding department and outsource the services to Longview, Texas-based Zion Revenue Solutions, according to the report. The move affects 24 employees.
2. The contract with Zion is for three years. Under the contract, Zion will receive payment based on a portion of net revenue, the Craig Daily Press reports. It also includes a 90-day "out clause," which means MRH could terminate the contract with 90 days notice, if necessary. MRH will pay roughly the same amount it has been to conduct billing and coding in-house, the report states.
3. Displaced employees on the job less than a year received two weeks' pay in lieu of notice, while employees on the job a year or more were provided severance packages, according to the report. Affected employees are able to pursue job opportunities at Zion and at MRH. MRH CEO Andy Daniels said he anticipates Zion will hire approximately four employees locally, according to the report.
4. The outsourcing move comes amid billing and coding issues at MRH. Mr. Daniels said in the report: "We've had billing issues in the organization for lots and lots of years, decades really. The community knows it. Our employees know it. It may get worse before it gets better."
5. Mr. Daniels said the health system was already outsourcing a large portion of billing, with "two different extended business offices and two different collection agencies." He added: "Those contracts have been eliminated, and the remaining agency is through the Western Healthcare Alliance, located in Grand Junction, Colo."
To read the full report, click here.