Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/516252
16 ASC Turnarounds ACCELERATE REVENUE CYCLES. INCREASE EFFICIENCY. MAXIMIZE PROFITABILITY. The largest management companies and over 20,000 healthcare providers trust Surgical Notes' cutting-edge revenue cycle management solutions and services to enhance the financial strength and performance of their ASCs. Contact us to learn more! (800) 459-5616 | sales@surgicalnotes.com | www.surgicalnotes.com ICD-10 ICD-10 ICD-10 ICD-10 ICD-10 Transcription Coding Document Management Central Billing Office EHR Visit us at ASCA 2015 Booth # 418 when ICD-10 is required, claims can be processed efficiently from the ASC's side. However, there is always the concern whether payers will be able to handle the switch. "There is a significant increase in diagnosis and CPT codes, and there is a concern about whether the insurance companies, specifically the smaller companies, can process all the claims," says Mr. Martin. "That hits the ASCs in cash flow areas. We recommend building a reserve starting in September to create a cushion in case there is an issue. If the facility normally reserves 30 days when making distribution recommendations, we might recommend reserving 60 days or more at this point." 2. There are far more patients with high deduct- ible health plans today, which means patients are waiting longer to have elective procedures and re- quired to pay more out-of-pocket. More surgery centers are developing policies and procedures to collect deductibles or co-insurance upfront on the day of surgery. "That's important to the facility from the financial side because accounts receivable is growing and it's helpful for the patient to know on the day of surgery what their out-of-pocket is," says Mr. Mar- tin. "That can also be a patient satisfier in the long run, and it's easier to collect money before or the day of surgery instead of 30 to 60 days afterward when the insurance company has paid and the pa- tient already received services." 3. As ASCs age, physician populations are also aging and ownership reaches a point when one or more founders will retire. Establishing a re- serve for share buy back is critical for the center's growth and evolution. "One effective strategy is holding back or reserving some of the funds when a new physician buys into the facility," says Mr. Martin. "We recommend a five-year window for projecting new members or retirements, which we've found effective." 4. Bonus programs for staff members are an im- portant part of rewarding good service and mo- tivating future performance. "We think programs that provide for employee bonuses based on im- provements in patient satisfaction and profitabil- ity indicators for the facility align very well with the board's and owners' goals for the facilities," says Mr. Martin. "Bonus programs that reimburse up to 3 percent to 5 percent of earnings or distri- butions can be quite effective." 5. Managed care contract negotiations are con- tinuously an important opportunity for surgery centers, and access to case costing data is a very important component in contract negotiations. If ASCs can show cost savings, they may have le- verage with payers. "All portions of the healthcare industry are under scrutiny to identify additional cost savings and increased revenues," says Mr. Martin. "The importance of negotiating increases for specific new cases that involve implants or for overall bread-and-butter cases continue to be very important because we know other costs are in- creasing at the center." Case costing is especially important if the ASC is trying to add and contract for new procedures or specialties, such as total joints or spine. n 5 Top Financial Issues for ASCs in 2015 (continued from cover) Reed Martin