While, thankfully, reports of kidnappings and hostage takings are extremely rare on U.S. soil, U.S. companies and governmental entities are increasingly becoming targets of extortion cyber attacks called rasomware attacks. Using encryption viruses that are often disguised as email links or attachments, would-be thieves are able to access “compromised computer files” and essentially hold them…
For individuals who are age 65 and older or who are permanently disabled, Medicare provides vital health insurance coverage to help pay for doctor visits, medical procedures, hospital stays, physical therapy, prescription drugs and medical equipment. According to The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, during 2014, Medicare spending totaled $597 billion and accounted for 14…
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, annually, 20 percent of the U.S. adult population “experiences mental illness.” Whether a mental health condition like depression is related to a specific event or is a genetic and chronic condition; mental health conditions are disabling and can also be difficult to treat. For an individual who…
Medicare pays practitioners for “incident to” services at the applicable Medicare payment rate as if the practitioner personally furnished the service. For example, if billed by a physician, they are paid at 100 percent of the fee schedule amount, and if billed by a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist, they are paid at 85…
Business transactions in the health care field are moving at a record pace in 2015. Analysts say the driving forces behind the robust merger and acquisition activity are many. Low interest rates get some of the credit. But the desire for scale is important, too. As a recent report in The New York Times observed,…
Medicine is a business. It hasn’t always been viewed that way. In fact, a lot of doctors who came up through the ranks back before World War II would likely confirm that when it came to learning their trade, the business side of things was never even touched on. The focus then was on making…