Case Study: Medicare Bad Debt
Client Background
A large health system with multiple facilities including teaching hospitals, psychiatric children's hospitals, a community-based hospital, a multispecialty practice, and a primary care practice.
The Situation
The organization requested advisory services to help their Medicare Bad Debt records comply with the new CMS Transmittal 18 reporting regulations for the Medicare Cost Report.
Additionally, the organization asked Moss Adams to review their policies and procedures to improve compliance with Medicare rules and regulations. This organization also had to submit a state-level report that required additional information that slightly differed from federal reporting.
The Solution & Results
Moss Adams completed a thorough analysis of the health system's financial assistance policy and Medicare Bad Debt reporting processes.
We made recommendations around improvements to the language of its policy, which when implemented effectively, would possibly increase its reimbursement by broadening the type of patients who could receive income and asset testing.
The organization's existing policy was narrow, preventing them from realizing additional allowable reimbursement for the care they provided. With a simple policy update, we helped this health system increase its Medicare Bad Debt reimbursement by approximately 10% per facility in future Cost Report filings.
We’re Here to Help
For more information on Medicare Bad Debt or to receive a complimentary policy review, please contact your Moss Adams professional.