Becker's Hospital Review

19 CFO / FINANCE AHA to feds: Give COVID-stressed hospitals a break on price transparency compliance By Alia Paavola T he American Hospital Association is calling on HHS to ex- ercise enforcement discretion when ensuring compliance with the price transparency rule that took effect Jan. 1. e association said compliance with the rule is particularly chal- lenging at this time due to an influx of COVID-19 patients and need to rapidly administer coronavirus vaccines. "Both of these events are straining hospital and health system re- sources at a critical time," the letter read. Implementing the rule is adding another large burden to the fi- nance, billing and information technology staff, who are also re- sponsible for helping hospitals navigate the surge in COVID-19 patients and vaccine demand, the AHA said. For example, the revenue and IT departments responsible for im- plementing the rules also help map surge capacity, manage the rescheduling of elective procedures, and help build out vaccine administration tracking systems to comply with state and federal reporting requirements, according to the AHA. "e time and resources these employees devote to implementing this rule are time and resources diverted from responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. ese competing resource constraints do not diminish simply because we have passed the Jan. 1 implemen- tation date," the letter read. Additionally, the AHA argued that HHS has not provided suffi- cient compliance guidance to hospitals for several provisions in the rule. One gap, according to the AHA, is guidance for which rate hospitals should use when no rate exists in the contract be- tween insurers and providers. "We again ask that the agency exercise enforcement discretion at least until the end of the public health emergency and use that time to effectively mesh the new and existing requirements. We stand ready to work with you to align these requirements to ben- efit patients," the AHA letter concluded. n Ohio health systems split 3 years early By Ayla Ellison S umma Health and HealthSpan ended their investor re- lationship Jan. 1, three years ahead of its planned end date, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. HealthSpan Partners received a 30 percent stake in Summa through a $250 million, 10-year deal the two Akron, Ohio- based organizations entered into in 2013, according to the report. Regarding why Summa and HealthPartners ended the time-limited investment early, Summa President and CEO Cliff Deveny, MD, said the organizations are "moving in different directions." He cited the failed deal between Summa and Beaumont Health as a factor that spurred con- versations about potentially ending the partnership with HealthSpan early. Dr. Deveny said he appreciates the support the partner- ship provided Summa over the last seven years. "Our partnership with HealthSpan began in 2013 as a 10- year agreement, and we have enjoyed a collaborative re- lationship that has been of benefit to both organizations," Dr. Deveny stated, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. "We are a stronger organization today as a result of the partnership, and I am appreciative of the support we have received during the past seven years." n CMS updates physician payment rates for 2021 By Ayla Ellison C MS has recalculated Medicare physician fee schedule payment rates for 2021 to reflect changes finalized Dec. 27 under the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The new physician fee schedule conversion factor for 2021 is now $34.89. This is higher than the conversion factor finalized in the rule released in December, but 3.3 percent less than the 2020 conversion factor, according to the American Hospital Association. n

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