39
PRACTICE
MANAGEMENT
SPINE
DEVICE
&
INNOVATION
HEALTHCARE
REFORM
Cerner's Ultimatum
to Employees: Give
Up Right to Sue, or
Give Up Raises
By Akanksha Jayanthi
T
he week before Thanksgiving, Kansas City, Mo.-
based Cerner gave its employees a choice: They
could give up their right to sue the company over la-
bor matters or give up their right for merit-based pay raises.
Marlene Bentley, a Cerner spokeswoman, says 93 percent
of Cerner's approximately 17,000 U.S. employees have re-
linquished their right to sue in favor of pay raises. For those
giving up the right to sue, Cerner will handle legal complaints
through arbitration instead of in court.
"e arbitration process is more beneficial than traditional
litigation for both associates and Cerner," Ms. Bentley says. "It's
generally quicker, more private and less expensive."
Signing the agreement is voluntary for employees, and
there is no deadline by which employees have to sign. How-
ever, employees who signed up for the agreement by Tuesday,
Dec. 8 were given a $500 bonus in Cerner stock options. While
those that do not accept the arbitration agreement are no lon-
ger eligible for merit-based raises, they could still receive raises
through promotions, Dan Smith, a Cerner spokesman, said
in e Kansas City Star.
e vendor has recently faced several lawsuits alleging it
did not pay proper overtime to employees, according to e
Kansas City Star.
Mike Hodgson, a local attorney not linked to any legal
actions against Cerner, told e Kansas City Star tying arbitra-
tion agreements to eligibility for raises is uncommon. n
CMS Finalizes Bundled
Payment Initiative for Hip, Knee
Replacements: 7 Key Notes
By Anuja Vaidya
C
MS finalized a
new bundled pay-
ment model for hip
and knee replacement sur-
gery in acute-care hospitals.
Here are seven key notes:
1. Under the Comprehensive
Care for Joint Replacement
model, acute-care hospitals
in certain selected geo-
graphic locations will receive
retrospective bundled
payments for episodes of
care for lower extremity joint
replacement or reattachment
of a lower extremity.
2. All related care, within 90
days of hospital discharge
from the procedure, will be in-
cluded in the episode of care.
3. The regulations are effec-
tive on Jan. 15, 2016 and
applicable on April 1, 2016.
4. To allow hospitals time to
gain experience under the
new model, CMS is final-
izing a payment policy for
participating hospitals that
includes:
• No repayment responsibili-
ty in performance year one
• A stop-loss limit of 5 per-
cent in performance year
two
• A stop-loss limit of 10 per-
cent in performance year
three
• A stop-loss limit of 20 per-
cent in performance years
four and five
5. The CJR Model will be
implemented in 67 metro-
politan statistical areas
6. Hip and knee replace-
ments prove costly for CMS.
More than 400,000 Medicare
beneficiaries received a joint
replacement in 2014, costing
CMS more than $7 billion.
7. The CJR model's goal is
to give hospitals a financial
incentive to work with physi-
cians, home health agencies,
skilled nursing facilities and
other providers, promoting
coordinated care. n
ADVERTISINGINDEX
Note: Ad page number(s) given in parentheses
ADVERTISER
Bioventus.
www.osteoamp.com / (919) 474-6700 (pg. 24)
Congress of Neurological Surgeons.
meetings@cns.org / www.cns.org/spine / (847) 240-
2500 (pg. 13)
eSutures
info@esutures.com / www.esutures.com / (888) 416-
2409 (pg. 23)
L3 Healthcare Design, Inc.
www.l3asc.com / (866) 929-5353 (pg. 17)
Meditech Spine, LLC.
support@meditechspine.com / www.meditechspine.
com / (678) 974-5287 (pg. 3)
Meridian Surgical Partners.
www.meridiansurgicalpartners.com / (615) 301-8156
(pg. 11)
National Medical Billing Services.
info@nationalascbilling.com / www.nationalascbilling.
com / (636) 273-6711 (pg. 7)
Orthofix.
www.orthofix.com / (888) 298-5700 (pgs. 2, 4)
Stryker.
www.strykerivs.com / (201) 760-8000 (pg. 40)
Zyga.
www.zyga.com/simmetry / (855) 374-6050 (pgs. 18 -
20)
