HLTH 8401 Week 1 Discussion: Utilizing a Medicare Cost Report to Uncover Departmental Value
This Discussion aligns to the NCHL domain of Execution. Specifically, it focuses on the third level of the Analytical Thinking Competency: “Recognizes Multiple Relationships.” For more information on how this icon aligns to the NCHL Health Leadership Competency Model 3.0, refer to the MHA Iconography page.
A Medicare Cost Report (MCR) collects descriptive data, both financial and statistical in nature to identify if a facility has been overpaid or underpaid for Medicare patients. The data is also utilized to set prospective payments. MCRs are in place for institutional providers not physicians and remains the only national data available for all types of providers: profit, not-for-profit, and governmental.
Typical providers are hospitals, SNFs, HHA, hospice, renal dialysis centers, FQHC, and CAH (critical access hospitals).
For this Discussion, your task is to explore the role the MCR plays in a value-based healthcare system. Specifically, you will address issues included in the report like facility characteristics, utilization data, cost, and charges by cost center. Furthermore, choose two utilization metrics (data) and address how it has impacted the facility of your choice.
For this Discussion, you will select a hospital setting. You must reference an actual MCR and identify the facility you have chosen.
You will find all Indiana facilities (you can also use a state of your choice) and their MCRs listed on the 2022 Hospital Medicare Cost ReportsLinks to an external site. page of the Indiana Department of Health website.
Resources
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
To prepare for this Discussion:
- Review the 2022 Hospital Medicare Cost ReportsLinks to an external site. page of the Indiana Department of Health website for more help in starting your Discussion.
- Using the MCR, consider the current economic trends both producing a loss and producing revenue. What economic principles (macro and micro) are driving this shift? What element of the Medicare Cost Report did you find most valuable and why?
- Select a specific institution that has published an MCR.
By Wednesday
Post a cohesive response to the following:
- Describe the specific institution you identified.
- Utilizing the institution’s published MCR, analyze costs and revenue of at least three specific departments.
- Evaluate implications of the volume of at least one of your specific departments to the facility’s future income stream.
Support your response by identifying and explaining key points and/or examples presented in the Learning Resources.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings. Consider how your colleagues’ postings relate to the information presented in the Learning Resources and to your own posting.
Refer to the Week 1 Discussion Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this grading rubric to assess your work.
By Friday
Respond to at least two of your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:
- Expand on this Discussion by describing challenges associated with selecting the most critical areas of the MCR.
- Include how you might approach utilizing the MCR in an actual healthcare organization.
Continue engaging in the Discussion through Sunday.
SOLUTION HLTH 8401 Week 1 Discussion: Utilizing a Medicare Cost Report to Uncover Departmental Value
Hello Class,
Analysis of Good Samaritan Hospital in Indiana’s Medicare Cost Report (MCR)
Good Samaritan Hospital, located in Vincennes, Indiana, is a healthcare institution that provides a range of services, including acute care, inpatient psychiatric treatment, and inpatient rehabilitation. The hospital’s Medicare Cost Report (MCR) for the reporting period from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, offers critical insights into its financial performance, revenue streams, and cost allocations across various departments. This analysis focuses on three specific departments as identified in the MCR: the inpatient hospital department, the inpatient psychiatric facility (IPF) subprovider, and the inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) subprovider. In addition, the volume of the inpatient rehabilitation facility is evaluated to determine its implications for the hospital’s future income streams…
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