Building a Financially Healthy Physician Practice As changes continue to occur in the healthcare industry, physicians are taking a hard look at the numbers of a medical practice and gauging whether the year at hand will be economically successful. The ability to analyze the productivity of a physician practice requires accurate and timely information. However, with the focus of most physician practices on delivering quality health care, the financial side
Physician Practices: Here’s what to expect in 2020 CMS (Medicare) issued its Final Rule – This final rule updates payment policies, payment rates, and other provisions for services furnished under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) on or after Jan. 1, 2020. Here’s a sneak peek at a few of the changes that physician practices can expect in 2020: Coding There are 273 additions to ICD 10 CM, 21 deletions,
Communicating with Physician Office Employees It is important for a physician office manager in a healthcare organization to make sure that staff members have a solid understanding of what is being conveyed to them. In such a regulated market, it remains vital all team members are on the same page and possess the same level of understanding. However, when it comes to management, busy physician office managers aren’t always conscious of
Form 1099-MISC With the close of the year, this is a simple reminder that physician medical practices must issue and file with the IRS Form 1099-MISC to each person to whom was paid during the year at least $600 in: Rents Services performed by someone who is not your employee. Payments to an attorney The 1099-MISC must be sent to any person or vendor that does not file their tax
Tax reform has had a significant impact on the tax deductions you can now claim for business entertainment and meals. The new tax law also eliminated business deductions for entertainment. As a result, no deduction is allowed with respect to: An activity generally considered to be entertainment, amusement or recreation; Membership dues with respect to any club organized for business, pleasure, recreation or other social purposes; or A facility or portion
Update from the Medical Group Management Association: Performance Feedback If your group practice submitted 2018 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) data, you can now view performance feedback, final scores, and 2020 payment adjustments by logging into the Quality Payment Program (QPP) website. MIPS participants that feel there is an error in their 2020 payment adjustment may submit a “targeted review” request by Sept. 30. More information on the targeted
The Way We Talk About Stress Although we are often stressed, overwhelmed, discouraged or worried about outcomes at work we rarely categorize them as mental health concerns. Did you know that the very words used to describe our workplace experiences are the same ones used to define common challenges such as anxiety and depression? While “stress” is often a blanketed expression, it has physical (how we behave), emotional (how we
PECOS Release 7.37 was implemented On June 30, 2019, PECOS Release 7.37 was implemented. This release was prescheduled and designed to bring efficiencies to Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and providers who use PECOS. While many aspects of the release were successful, a small component associated to changes made to existing and new group reassignments, was found to be problematic post-implementation. As a result, data flows from PECOS to the Multi-Carrier System (MCS)
I sometimes get asked is there a physician absenteeism policy I like. Here is one sample policy but you have to be willing to enforce it for it to be effective. You can insert your own lines of authority/notification. Non-Scheduled Time Off (Call Offs) All employees should notify their direct supervisor (Operations Manager, Surgery Center Clinical Manager, or CEO) when taking a non-scheduled day off (less than 24 hour notice from scheduled
It’s hard to believe that about 18 months have passed since President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)—the largest major tax reform in over three decades. As the IRS continues to release guidance on the new law, we discover tax planning opportunities that could put more cash in your pocket. Some of these opportunities may apply to you, some to family members, and others
The IRS has launched a special campaign encouraging taxpayers to perform a “paycheck checkup” to ensure the right amount of tax is being withheld from their paychecks for 2019. This is particularly important given changes implemented by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). For 2018, some taxpayers received refunds that were larger or smaller than anticipated, and some unexpectedly owed additional tax. To help taxpayers avoid this for
On June 13, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services issued final rules regarding health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and other account-based group health plans. Specifically, the final rules allow HRAs and other account-based group health plans to be integrated with individual health insurance coverage or Medicare, if certain conditions are satisfied (an individual coverage HRA). The final rules also set forth conditions under