Despite protests from doctor and provider groups, applying the median in-network rate in billing disputes is a simple remedy to the messy, behind-the-scenes health care billing game.
The law was Intended to protect patients from surprise medical bills and establish a balanced process for health plans and physicians to resolve out-of-network payment disputes. The California Medical Association (CMA) believes that as written it will increase health care costs and reduce access to care for patients.
Medical bills often represent large, unexpected shocks that can crash personal budgets. Roughly 1 in 7 U.S. residents with a credit record has medical debt in collections, according to the nonprofit Urban Institute.
Tax exemptions are estimated to save nonprofit hospitals over $24 billion annually. In return, the hospitals are expected to invest these would-be tax dollars into caring for underserved patients ("charity care") and improving the health of their communities.
AKASA™, the only Unified Automation™ company for healthcare revenue cycle management, released findings from a recent survey highlighting the rapid adoption of automation among hospitals and health systems. The survey found 78% of health systems are currently using or are in the process of implementing automation in their revenue cycle operations - a 12 percentage point increase compared to results of last year's survey.
A price transparency rule put into effect earlier this year requires that hospitals report the cost of services online, but not all hospitals have met compliance standards. The rule requires that by Jan. 1, 2022, all hospitals operating in the United States must make available a list of their current standard charges via the internet in a machine-readable format at least annually, along with a list of 300 consumer-friendly "shoppable" services, of which CMS identifies 230.