Budget planning under payment reform
Nugent, M.E.
Healthcare Financial Management Journal of the Healthcare Financial Management Association 65(7): 38-42
2011
ISSN/ISBN: 0735-0732 PMID: 21789940 Document Number: 655828
Healthcare reform makes budgeting topline reimbursement, volume, payer mix, and collections more difficult than in the past. Finance should take the lead at educating physicians and operators on what reform will mean to unit reimbursement, collections, volume, and payer mix. The team should analyze future scenarios for each variable before finalizing the budget, rather than assuming revenue cycle or managed care will come through with a last-second rate increase as they have in the past.