Res351
Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3
Team B (Augusta Gose, Tammy Brown, Tiffany Kenny, Rudy Burns, Steven Delgado
RES/351
November 5, 2012
Judith Longmeyer
Introduction
Approving a health care provider assessment proposal will reduce the amount of charity cost and bad debt that Banner Health and other healthcare organizations incur. Having a provider assessment in place for Banner Health would be beneficial to the hospital and patients due to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) and Medicaid cuts. The state budget cuts went into effect on January 1, 2011, which eliminated coverage for over 310,000 Arizonans (Borns, 2012). A possible revenue source is a provider assessment, a state law that authorizes collecting revenue from specified categories of providers. Provider assessments provide a more stable source of revenue than sales tax, which funds more than half of the General Fund for Arizona, which in turn provides state dollars for AHCCCS. Since assessments are frequently a percentage of profit earned by the identified provider, they are based on the actual cost of care and are more able to keep pace with the rising expenses in health care. This provider assessment would be used to generate new in-state funds and match them with federal money so that the state receives additional federal Medicaid dollars. Currently Arizona has a 2% premium revenue tax levied on health insurers, which includes AHCCCS plans, as a form of provider assessment (Borns, 2012).
Research problem and purpose
The research problem is finding a better solution for hospitals, and other health care organizations to operate without having to deal with issues on funding that is paid out by state and federal government programs. The purpose is finding a financial solution to reduce the rising bad debts and charity costs that have affected Banner Health since the budgets cuts went into effect on January 1, 2011.
Problems of Medicaid Cuts
Team B (Augusta Gose, Tammy Brown, Tiffany Kenny, Rudy Burns, Steven Delgado
RES/351
November 5, 2012
Judith Longmeyer
Introduction
Approving a health care provider assessment proposal will reduce the amount of charity cost and bad debt that Banner Health and other healthcare organizations incur. Having a provider assessment in place for Banner Health would be beneficial to the hospital and patients due to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) and Medicaid cuts. The state budget cuts went into effect on January 1, 2011, which eliminated coverage for over 310,000 Arizonans (Borns, 2012). A possible revenue source is a provider assessment, a state law that authorizes collecting revenue from specified categories of providers. Provider assessments provide a more stable source of revenue than sales tax, which funds more than half of the General Fund for Arizona, which in turn provides state dollars for AHCCCS. Since assessments are frequently a percentage of profit earned by the identified provider, they are based on the actual cost of care and are more able to keep pace with the rising expenses in health care. This provider assessment would be used to generate new in-state funds and match them with federal money so that the state receives additional federal Medicaid dollars. Currently Arizona has a 2% premium revenue tax levied on health insurers, which includes AHCCCS plans, as a form of provider assessment (Borns, 2012).
Research problem and purpose
The research problem is finding a better solution for hospitals, and other health care organizations to operate without having to deal with issues on funding that is paid out by state and federal government programs. The purpose is finding a financial solution to reduce the rising bad debts and charity costs that have affected Banner Health since the budgets cuts went into effect on January 1, 2011.
Problems of Medicaid Cuts
References: Cooper, D. & Schindler, P. (2011). Business Research Methods (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Borns, K. (2012). Retrieved October 29, 2012, from MorrisonInstitute.asu.edu: https://morrisoninstitute.asu.edu/publications-reports/azs-fiscal-crisis-ahcccs-bed-tax-coming Banner Health. (2012). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.bannerhealth.com/Locations/Arizona/Banner Gateway Medical Center/For Physicians/News for Physicians/_Results of AHCCCS cuts are troubling.htm Brewer, J. (2012). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://azgovernor.gov/documents/AZBudget/2011/FY2011_AgencyDetailBookFINAL.pdf http://www.qualitynet.org/dcs/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=QnetPublic%2FPage%2FQnetTier2&cid=1140537251096