Can we build good wings?

10/25/2012

Ray Bradbury once said “living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.” Admittedly, he was referring to a sense of adventure and embracing boldness in life. His quote might also describe the financial cliff we are facing at the beginning of 2013. This cliff includes tax increases due to the expiration of … Read More

Love interviewed by CBS Evening News

10/02/2012

With part of the Affordable Care Act going into effect, the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council’s President and CEO Steve Love offered his insight for CBS Evening News Monday evening, October 1. Love was interviewed for Anna Werner‘s segment involving Medicare reimbursement penalties. As detailed, hospitals now face big fines if too many patients have to be readmitted because of complications. … Read More

Readmissions – A Complex Issue

10/01/2012

In October each year we enjoy the State Fair of Texas, fall festivals, carving pumpkins and Texas football at all levels. This year a new event begins Oct. 1, 2012 resulting from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). A readmissions provision imposes financial penalties on hospitals for “excess” readmissions when compared to “expected” levels of readmission. Generally, hospitals … Read More

Uninsured Trends – Behind the Numbers

09/12/2012

The U.S. Census Bureau released numbers today reflecting an estimated 48.6 million uninsured population for medical care in the United States. This estimate represents a 1.4 million decrease from an estimated 50 million uninsured in 2010, or 16.3-15.7 percent during the same period. This sounds encouraging. So what created this slight decrease? Young adults accounted for the largest drop in … Read More

Challenges and Solutions

05/03/2012

Hospitals face challenges every day while ensuring patients have timely access to services. Some selected, pressing challenges are: • Continued high cost for technology, equipment and medical devices • Pharmaceutical costs and many critical drugs in short supply • Attracting and training physicians, nurses and other health care professionals • Continued growth in patients with chronic disease or multiple chronic … Read More

Sight but no Vision

03/06/2012

Helen Keller said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” What an excellent description of patient responsibility in today’s sick care system that needs to migrate to a health care system. Two important factors are lifespan changes and education/prevention of chronic disease. When U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security … Read More

President Obama’s FY 2013 Budget Proposal

02/14/2012

In reviewing the proposal by President Obama, there will be $320 billion reductions in Medicare and Medicaid. Approximately $268 billion in Medicare and $52 billion in Medicaid. The proposed cuts include reducing care for the elderly indigent by lowering the bad debt payments up to 25 percent from the current level of 70 percent. Indirect medical education, rural healthcare providers … Read More

Open letter to our Congressional Leaders

02/08/2012

We urge you NOT TO SUPPORT any additional cuts to Medicare as the February 29, 2012 deadline approaches. Although we support the elimination of the 27.4% proposed Medicare cuts to physicians, it should not be done at the expense of hospitals that provide billions of dollars in Medicare, Medicaid and charity care services to millions of Americans in need of … Read More

Leap Year Negotiations

01/17/2012

As 2011 came to a close, the House and Senate passed a two-month extension of the Social Security (SS) payroll tax holiday and emergency Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits and a two-month fix on the current Medicare physician payment rates. What will happen in February? We hope the appointed conferees and other congressional leaders realize that hospitals have stepped forward with … Read More