Huron Consulting Group Releases Healthcare Briefing on Countering Cost Pressures

Huron Healthcare Addresses Anticipated Deficit Reduction Efforts on Medicare Reimbursement Rates for Hospitals and Health Systems

CHICAGO--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--It is clear that, given the current federal fiscal challenges, the government has its sights set on Medicare spending reductions. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) and the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) both make specific recommendations that may have significant impact on Medicare reimbursement rates.

“To prepare, alongside plans for moving the healthcare business model from volume to value, organizations must also revisit traditional areas of cost savings such as labor, supplies, and HR benefits, re-exploring optimization and savings opportunities with renewed urgency and focus.”

In advance of the Joint Select Committee (or “Super Committee”) proposal and upcoming Congressional vote on November 23, 2011, Huron Healthcare today released Countering Cost Pressures: Anticipating Deficit Reduction Efforts’ Impact on Medicare Reimbursement. With the potential economic exposure for healthcare providers continuing to grow, this briefing is aimed at assisting healthcare leaders as they consider the total economic exposure of their organizations related to potential Medicare reimbursement reductions within both the ACA and BCA and providing insights on possible next steps.

“The anticipated major reimbursement cuts in Medicare – as well as Medicaid — have created the need for even high-performing organizations to reduce costs further,” said Gordon Mountford, executive vice president, Huron Healthcare. “To prepare, alongside plans for moving the healthcare business model from volume to value, organizations must also revisit traditional areas of cost savings such as labor, supplies, and HR benefits, re-exploring optimization and savings opportunities with renewed urgency and focus.”

According to Mountford, the question that remains is just how aggressively the government will reduce Medicare spending and therefore how deeply the cuts will impact providers. Those providers whose patient mix includes a large Medicare population should be looking at worst-case scenarios in terms of their total economic exposure, and create specific plans for responding to those scenarios. Certain providers — such as academic medical centers, post-acute care providers, and rural providers — may experience more dramatic reimbursement cuts.

Countering Cost Pressures: Anticipating Deficit Reduction Efforts’ Impact on Medicare Reimbursement, is one of a series of briefings from Huron Healthcare aimed at providing hospitals and health systems with best practices for success in a post-healthcare reform reality. The full briefing is available at: http://www.huronconsultinggroup.com/researchdetails.aspx?articleId=3068

To receive a copy of Huron Healthcare’s briefing or to speak with one of the Huron Healthcare experts about cost pressures or other issues affecting hospitals and health systems, please contact:

Jennifer Frost Hennagir

312-880-3260

[e-mail]

Jenna Nichols

312-880-5693

[e-mail]

About Huron Healthcare

Huron Healthcare partners with clients to provide comprehensive performance improvement solutions that improve quality, increase revenue, reduce expenses, and increase physician, patient, and employee satisfaction across the healthcare enterprise. Clients include national and regional integrated healthcare systems, leading academic medical centers, community hospitals and physician practices. Modern Healthcare ranked Huron Healthcare third on its 2011 list of the top 20 largest healthcare management consulting firms. Learn more at www.huronconsultinggroup.com/healthcare or follow us on Twitter: @Huron

About Huron Consulting Group

Huron Consulting Group helps clients in diverse industries improve performance, comply with complex regulations, resolve disputes, recover from distress, leverage technology, and stimulate growth. The Company teams with its clients to deliver sustainable and measurable results. Huron provides services to a wide variety of both financially sound and distressed organizations, including leading academic institutions, healthcare organizations, Fortune 500 companies, medium-sized businesses, and the law firms that represent these various organizations. Learn more at www.huronconsultinggroup.com.