AMA reports rise in claims processing errors and Baptist Health to open four ER hospitals

[CAL/AAEM News Service]

June 20, 2011
AMA reports rise in claims processing errors
AHA News Now

Six large commercial health insurers had an average 19.3% error
rate in processing physician claims this year, a 2% increase from
2010, according to a report released today by the American Medical Association. 

The finding is based on a random sample of electronic claims submitted by physicians to: Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, CIGNA Corp., Health Care Service Corp., Humana Inc. and UnitedHealthcare. According to AMA, the increase added an estimated $1.5 billion in unnecessary administrative costs to the health system. UnitedHealthcare, with an accuracy rating of 90.2%, was the only insurer in the annual report to demonstrate an improvement in claims-processing accuracy, while Anthem scored the worst this year with an accuracy rating of 61%.
 
 


June 20, 2011
Baptist Health to open four ER hospitals

Modern Physician
 
By Paul Barr

Baptist Health System, San Antonio, plans to open four emergency
hospitals in San Antonio as part of a partnership with Emerus, a
developer and manager of emergency-care-focused hospitals and
satellite emergency rooms.

The Baptist Health emergency hospitals will be managed by Emerus and
will have about 10 beds for accepting inpatients, said Dr. Toby
Hamilton, CEO of Emerus, which is based in The Woodlands, Texas.

Baptist Health System, owned by for-profit Vanguard Health System,
Nashville, expects to open the first emergency hospital this fall,
with the remaining three to open during the next 12 months, according
to a news release from Baptist Health and Emerus.

The emergency hospitals are planned to be open 24-7, staffed with
board-certified emergency medicine physician specialists and equipped
with on-site imaging service and in-house laboratories.
 
 
 


Anna Parks &
Brian Potts MD, MBA
Managing Editors, CAL/AAEM News Service

 
 
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Copyright (C) 2011. The California Chapter of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (CAL/AAEM). All rights reserved.

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