billing practices news from FierceHealthcare
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Some medical practices stop taking credit cards
Right now, many patients are being forced to finance their co-payments and deductibles with credit cards. But in about one-third of practices, they don't have that option. Increasingly, practices are... Read more...
Chiropractor sues patient over negative online review
Some insurance companies have been starting to experiment recently with allowing their customers to rate doctors and then make that information generally available. But third-party sites to do the... Read more...
Report names top coding hospitals
Ingenix has released its annual report on the top coding hospitals, ranking them based on how accurate and complete their coding practices are when billing Medicare. The report shines a spotlight on... Read more...
NY MDs sue Oxford, UnitedHealth
Physicians in New York are suing UnitedHealthcare and Oxford Health Plans for what they consider to be antitrust activity. In 2004, UnitedHealthcare bought Oxford, expanding the insurer's presence in the state. Last year, doctors were informed that they either had to deal with both insurers or they could not be part of their networks, which could cost doctors many of the patients. The Medical Society of the State of New York and several additional doctors have filed suit with the state's …
... Read more...Oxford Health Plans under fire
The hospital industry is blasting Oxford Health Plans--and owner UnitedHealth--over what it sees as unethical billing practices. In New York, one woman decided to use an out-of-network surgeon that practiced at an in-network hospital. She was prepared to pay the difference for the surgeon but was shocked when she received a bill for her entire stay, despite the fact that she used an in-network hospital. Oxford claims that it did nothing wrong and that its policies were clearly …
... Read more...ALSO NOTED: MI man faces Medicaid fraud charges; HI workers test protective gear; and much more...
> Daniel Lohmeier, president of Specialized Pharmacy (a subsidiary of Omnicare) has been indicted on 148 counts of fraud, including fraudulently billing Medicaid and illegally dispensing medications to Medicaid patients. Omnicare's billing practices have been called into question in a number of states, including Michigan, Massachusetts and Ohio. Lohmeier could serve up to four years in prison if he's found guilty. …
... Read more...Legacy Health settles improper billing suit
Legacy Health System of Portland, OR has settled a class-action lawsuit that claims the hospital system provided insufficient charity care and improperly billed uninsured patients. As part of the settlement, Legacy will retroactively discount uninsured patient bills dating back to 2001 by 25 percent. In addition, until mid-2008 the system will offer a 15-percent discount on care given to uninsured patients with an income under $100,000. The lawsuit was filed in 2004 that alleged many …
... Read more...Spitzer: Albany med center must revamp billing
New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer has announced that Albany Medical Center in Albany, NY will change its billing practices after receiving a number of complaints from patients. Individuals reported receiving bills from the Albany Medical center before the hospital even checked to see if insurers covered the treatment in question. Though the problems weren't widespread, the hospital has agreed that it won't bill patients until an insurance company denies their claim.
The …
... Read more...IRS to investigate nonprofit hospitals
The Internal Revenue Service has launched a "wide-ranging" investigation into possible wrongdoing by tax-exempt hospitals. The inquiry will focus on allegations that nonprofit hospitals refuse to provide care to uninsured patients. The IRS will also look into charges that hospitals are failing to provide adequate levels of charity care. The agency has sent questionnaires to 550 hospitals demanding compensation figures for top executives and information about their billing practices as …
... Read more...Boston centers plan for unionization drive
Academic medical centers in the Boston area are preparing themselves for an aggressive unionization drive led by SEIU Local 1199. The Boston Globe reports that providers are studying the healthcare union's fight with Yale-New Haven hospital to get a sense of what the union's tactics are likely to be. The group was able to delay plans for Yale-New Haven's cancer center by months with an aggressive "corporate style" marketing campaign including billboards criticizing the hospital's billing …
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