Study: safety net providers protecting bottom line
Safety net providers struggling with an increase in the uninsured are looking for creative ways to shore up their margins, according to a study released by the Center for Studying Health System Change and published in Health Affairs. The study found that safety net providers continue to experience financial pressures in part as a result of increasing numbers of uninsured people. Some providers are responding by limiting their exposure to indigent care and taking actions that often mimic non-safety-net providers’ efforts to increase revenue and attract a more favorable patient mix.
TransUnion, Aequitas eye payment plan for patients
TransUnion, a Chicago-based developer of credit and information management services, is joining forces with Aequitas Capital Management, a Portland, Ore.-based alternative investment manager, to develop an interest-free, hospital-branded finance card for hospital patients. TransUnion will integrate Revenue Manager with Aequitas Capital’s CarePayment program, which provides a hospital-branded finance card that allows for monthly payments, inbound/outbound customer service calls, payment processing, reporting, Web access and late payment management.
Companies team to provide invoicing via SaaS
Louisville, Colo-based GHX and Dallas-based BancTec have announced plans to offer OnDemand AP as a software-as-a-service solution. The companies say OnDemand AP will enable hospitals to receive all invoices electronically, even from suppliers who submit invoices via fax or mail. This is important because certain facets of supply ordering in healthcare are still paper-based, and an inability to automate these purchasing activities slows automation.
Provider to pay $100,000 fine over lost laptops
The Department of Health and Human Services has levied a $100,000 fine on Seattle-based Providence Health and Services for alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules. The violation, involving unprotected backup tapes, optical disks and laptops three years ago, compromised the protected health information of more than 386,000 patients, HHS officials said. Providence will also be required to follow a detailed corrective action plan for adequately safeguarding identifiable electronic patient information.