In this episode, we’re pleased to welcome back Christina Brown, BESLER’s Director of Reimbursement Services, to give us a glimpse into her upcoming webinar, The Cost Report Domino Effect 2024, the next in the Fundamentals of Reimbursement Webinar Series, presented on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 1 PM ET.
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Learn how to listen to The Hospital Finance Podcast® on your mobile device.Highlights of this episode include:
- What is the domino effect?
- Overview of how the hospital cost report works
- The various worksheets
- Processing best practices
Kelly Wisness: Hi, this is Kelly Wisness. Welcome back to the award-winning Hospital Finance Podcast. We’re pleased to welcome back Christina Brown, BESLER’s Director of Reimbursement Services. In this episode, Christina will give us a glimpse into our upcoming webinar, The Cost Report Domino Effect 2024, the next in our Fundamentals of Reimbursement Webinar Series that we’re presenting live on Wednesday, February 21, at 1:00 PM Eastern Time. Thank you for joining us today, Christina, and welcome back.
Christina Brown: Thanks, Kelly. It’s always a pleasure.
Kelly: Yes. Well, let’s go ahead and jump in. So, this webinar is about the domino effect. Can you describe what that means?
Christina: Sure, yeah, that’s a great question, Kelly. This webinar is really for those that are just starting out with working on a cost report, or those that just want a broad overview of how the hospital cost report works. The flow of a cost report contains quite a bit of interdependent data. And this means when something changes on one worksheet that it can have downstream impacts throughout the cost report which, if you think about it, is a lot like dominoes, which is where we came up with the term. In terms of an Excel workbook, if you want to think about it that way, you think of an Excel workbook with many different references throughout. And the cost report is the same, as there is a significant amount of interdependent data throughout the worksheets.
Kelly: Yeah, I mean, I know those are very complex. So, what types of things will you be discussing as it relates to the domino effect?
Christina: Sure. So, in the webinar, I will be covering various worksheets within the cost report, as well as processes that would result in a domino effect. More specifically, I’m going to go over Worksheet A and Worksheet C groupings, as well as the interrelationship of the settlement groupings. I’m also going to cover Worksheet A-6 reclasses and the impacts, as well as the impact of the Worksheet S-3 patient days. Additionally, I’m also going to talk about the processes that are used to fill in the worksheets, and how those processes can impact what is reported on the cost report. And we’re also going to talk about things like charge errors on Worksheets D-3 and D Part V, as well as calculation methodologies of reclasses and adjustments on Worksheets A-6 and A-8, and even template work papers.
Kelly: Wow, so this sounds like that’s going to be important for all the worksheets within the cost report. Will you be going into some detail with the various worksheets?
Christina: Yes, that’s actually a great question. So yes, we will absolutely touch on many of the worksheets and how the domino effect applies, such as how groupings are related between expenses on Worksheet A, and how that affects the revenue groupings on Worksheet C. And also, what that means for the groupings as it pertains to the settlement worksheets for D-3 and D Part V. And we’ll also discuss how the treatment on other worksheets will impact how patient days are reported on Worksheet S-3. And as I mentioned previously, we’ll also talk quite a bit in depth on Worksheet A-6 reclassifications.
Kelly: So, this sounds like this is important for all the worksheets within the cost report. Will you be going into some detail with the various worksheets?
Christina: Yes, that’s actually a very good point. So, I can definitely elaborate on the A-6 reclassifications. So, as you stated, issues on Worksheet A-6 can be somewhat involved and diverse. In the webinar, we will talk about the downstream impact of the Worksheet A-6 reclasses. There are multiple things to consider for A-6 reclasses, such as the fact that reclasses cause changes in multiple areas of the cost report. And due to the matching principle, treatment for A-6 reclassification of expenses must carry into the same treatment of revenue on Worksheet C. And another area we’ll discuss for consideration is how those A-6 reclassifications could also impact statistics reported on Worksheet B-1. So, when you think about it, most A-6 reclassifications do have the potential to have that domino effect into other areas of the cost report, the other worksheets for the statistics and for the revenue.
Kelly: Wow, yeah, it sounds very involved. So will you be discussing processing best practices in this webinar?
Christina: That’s another great question, Kelly. So, as you may be aware, it wouldn’t be a BESLER reimbursement webinar without some helpful tips or best practices. So yes, we will absolutely talk about some best practices when working through the cost report to ensure that all these domino effect issues have been considered appropriately. We’ll talk about things like identifying grouping mismatches and identifying some common A-6 reclassifications with downstream impacts, as well as patient days and charge issues. And finally, we’ll dive into some common things we see that could result in erroneous reporting. We’re always excited to bring you valuable content that will continue to provide insight while preparing or reviewing a cost report. And this is no different.
Kelly: Well, you know we all love best practices, so we know that you’ll have lots of those to share with us. So, thank you so much for joining us, Christina, and for sharing this sneak peek into BESLER’s upcoming webinar, The Cost Report Domino Effect 2024, that we’re presenting live on February 21st at 1:00 PM Eastern Time. And as a bonus, you can earn CPE. Thanks again, Christina.
Christina: Thank you very much.
Kelly: And thank you all for joining us for this episode of The Hospital Finance Podcast. Until next time…
[music] This concludes today’s episode of the Hospital Finance Podcast. For show notes and additional resources to help you protect and enhance revenue at your hospital, visit besler.com/podcasts. The Hospital Finance Podcast is a production of BESLER | SMART ABOUT REVENUE, TENACIOUS ABOUT RESULTS.
If you have a topic that you’d like us to discuss on the Hospital Finance podcast or if you’d like to be a guest, drop us a line at update@besler.com.
