Quoting from his speech on August 28, 1963, King stated, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!”
It’s not just the delivery of medical care that determines the value that your medical practice or group delivers. It’s all of the “soft” stuff as well.
Laugh about it or cry about it, the bottom line is the same: they are cutting costs by moving all cases that can be moved out of the hospital out of the hospital. Where does that leave you?
One thing is for certain, it will be no more walk in the park for the seven defendants convicted for their roles in a bribe and kickback scheme related to referring patients to Forest Park Hospital, a now defunct chain of Texas facilities.
Have you ever allowed the negotiating rug to be pulled out from under you? Or even worse, have you helped the other side pull the negotiating rug from out under you?
There’s nothing inherently fair in this notion of paying a purported “fair fee”. If there were, insurers would never have been in favor of it.
In my experience, most kickback schemes are not as brazen as this. They involve fewer numbers of people and, sometimes, behavior that is more easily rationalized by the participants as “sort of legal”.
Procedures that previously could be performed, meaning performed and reimbursed, only in a hospital setting, whether inpatient or outpatient, can now be performed in an ASC.
Chalk up a victory for less care at higher prices. Hey, aren’t those two of the Anti-Triple Aim?
What is your favorite dessert, something that goes well with barbecue?Whether it’s pie or vanilla ice cream (or both!), it’s probably not 10 years in federal prison.