Tag: hospital issues

The Role Of The Hospital In The Community

A hospital is a place where we can go if we get sick. It is a conducive place for people who require treatment for their illness. It also plays a big role in the community. A community will not be complete without the presence of a hospital. In fact, a hospital is the community center for health and wellness. The environment of this place is one of the healthiest and safest space that is good for patients, visitors, and staff.

Many of us do not appreciate the true value of a hospital unless we get sick. Many lives are being saved by hospitals. It is the perfect place for those who are experiencing major sickness such as cancer, brain diseases and other major injuries. There are some diseases that are incurable. However, hospitals have advance facilities and technologies to sustain the lives of the people. This place is not only treating sickness but it also helps improving the health of the community. Many hospitals are creating programs that offer financial assistance to patients who cannot afford to pay for hospital care. This helps people to get the care they need, without having to worry about financial payment.

It is true that a hospital has a big impact to the community. They are the critical partners in making sure that communities remain strong, vibrant, and healthy. They are not just treating the diseases of patients, but they also educate the community on how to become healthy and away from all sickness. We need to be grateful that hospitals are there for us to make our lives comfortable and convenient.

Medicare Hospital Issues

The House Ways & Means health subcommittee held a hearing last May 20 on hot-button Medicare hospital issues, specifically focusing on CMS’ two-midnights inpatient admissions policy, brief in-patient stays, out-patient observation stays, auditing and appeals, subcommittee Chair Kevin Brady (R-TX) said. Inside Health Policy said that the hearing was in the works. The hearing also will look at appeals trapped at the third level of the system, Brady says in a hearing statement.

In introducing the hearing, Brady says, “There are a number of problems associated with brief hospital stays and the way medical centers are audited. The Ways and Means Board battled hard to ensure that sufferers are getting the proper care they need and that Insurance coverage is properly paying medical centers for the care they offer. While we were able to offer some relief last March, it was only a short-term fix. We must work on a lasting solution. We don’t want suppliers needlessly looking over their shoulder area for auditors. We want medical centers to be perfectly refunded so that they can focus all of their time on providing the right type of care to sufferers.”

Brady is making reference to Congress’ decision, as part of the short-term doctor payment patch passed in March, to put on hold until March 31, 2015 Restoration Audit Contractor audits on most brief hospital stays related to medical requirement during an elongated transition to the two-midnights plan. A representative for the American Coalition for Healthcare Claims Integrity, which symbolizes RACs, says that the coalition facilitates continuous developments to the RAC system. “We hope this hearing will light up the impressive volume of waste in Medicare and the value of the RAC system to recipients, tax payers and the Medicare Trust Fund,” the representative says. Recent quarterly reviews from CMS show that the RACs’ recoveries have dropped since the two-midnights plan and other changes to the system were applied.