Surveys of specialties show revenue/cost variations
Recent surveys by the Medical Group Management Association show physician group practices battling rising costs in cardiology and orthopedics and constrained production in anesthesia. A survey of cardiology practices found revenue declined $8,126 from 2005 to 2006 while operating costs increased 3 percent – from a median of $522,303 per FTE physician in 2005 to $538,135 in 2006. For orthopedic practices, median operating costs and revenues per FTE physician increase at nearly identical rates from 2005 to 2006 – 2.4 percent for the former, from $503,949 to $516,359, and 2.2 percent for the latter, from $1.12 million to $1.14 million.
Legislation provides relief from 75 percent rule
Congress has provided relief from the 75 Percent Rule, giving inpatient rehabilitation facilities some relief. Under the rule, originally proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 75 percent of the patients of such facilities would need to have one of 13 diagnoses; facilities that failed that test would risk losing all reimbursement from Medicare for all hospital admissions in the fiscal year. The final Medicare package permanently freezes the rehabilitation service threshold at 60 percent and allows comorbid conditions to count toward the threshold.
CIGNA HealthCare to Offer ‘Virtual House Calls’
CIGNA HealthCare and RelayHealth announced last month that CIGNA HealthCare will expand its four-state pilot program nationally in 2008 to provide increased access to secure online messaging that enables “virtual house calls” with physicians. These services include reimbursable webVisit consultations that use an online structured interview format to communicate member symptoms to the physician, who can respond online, by phone or, if necessary, can ask the patient to come in for an in-office visit.
Nursing facility citations climb 22 percent since 2000
More nursing homes are being cited for serious violations, according to an analysis of data by USA Today. From 2000 through 2006, the number of citations for putting patients in “immediate jeopardy” increased 22 percent, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which regulates nursing homes. Such citations are the most serious reprimand inspectors can issue.