Top 5 revenue cycle management stories of 2019

By Ayla Ellison for Becker’s Hospital Review

Physician specialties that generate the most revenue for hospitals and Medicare payment rules were among the healthcare revenue cycle management topics that piqued the interest of readers this year.

Here are the five most popular revenue cycle management stories published by Becker’s Hospital Review in 2019:

1. These 10 physician specialties generate the most revenue for hospitals
The amount of revenue physicians generate for hospitals is typically considerably more than their annual salaries, according to a survey by physician staffing firm Merritt Hawkins.

2. CMS pitches 3 sweeping payment rules for 2020
CMS released three proposed rules on July 29, which included Medicare payment updates for outpatient and physician services and expanded price transparency initiatives. The agency finalized its annual Outpatient Prospective Payment System rule and Physician Fee Schedule Nov. 2, and it issued a final rule Nov. 15 that requires hospitals to disclose the rates they negotiate with insurers beginning in 2021.

3. Supreme Court sides with hospitals in multibillion dollar payment dispute
In an opinion issued June 3, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that HHS improperly failed to undergo formal notice-and-comment rulemaking before announcing a new Medicare rate calculation for disproportionate share payments to hospitals.

4. CMS penalizes 2,583 hospitals for high readmissions
As part of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, Medicare is cutting payments to 2,583 hospitals by anywhere from 0.01 percent to the maximum of 3 percent for fiscal year 2020. Fifty-six hospitals face the maximum 3 percent payment cut for every Medicare case during fiscal 2020, which runs Oct. 1 through September 2020.

5. CMS terminates Kentucky hospital’s Medicare contract
CMS ended its provider agreement with Southeastern Kentucky Medical Center in Pineville on May 24. In September, First State Bank of the Southeast acquired the hospital and appointed new leadership.