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Warren Buffett famously invoked the metaphor of a tapeworm when describing what healthcare is to the American economy. The United States spends approximately 20% of its gross national product on healthcare, but it is unclear where the money goes or who is minding the store. This healthcare crisis is mostly about money--not lack of money, but rather misspending of money.
From the perspective of a healthcare auditor and provider, this work describes the problems of American healthcare finance and proposes solutions. Extensive charts and graphs are used to trace where money goes in the American healthcare system, while other topics such as ethics in healthcare billing, un-auditable hospital costs and scams are discussed. There is evidence that clearly identifies where the money goes, and its destination may surprise the reader.
List of contents
Table of ContentsIntroduction by Lisa Famiglietti
Tables, Charts and Maps
¿1.¿Death Rode a Pale Horse in 2020
¿2.¿The Medicaid Cluster
¿3.¿Where Does the Drug Money Go?
¿4.¿Money, Politics, and Data
¿5.¿Required Profits and MCOs
¿6.¿Coding and Billing
¿7.¿The Curious Case of CPT Code 92507
¿8.¿Curiouser and Curiouser
¿9.¿Managed Care Organizations: Down the Rabbit Hole
10.¿Regulations and Estimates
11.¿Regulation Failures: Third-Party Recovery and Site-Neutral Requirements
12.¿Cost-Shifting and the Flip and Roll
13.¿Scams with Teeth, Regulations without Teeth
14.¿Solutions for Unauditable Hospital Costs
15.¿Unnecessary Surgeries and Tests
16.¿Ethics in Healthcare Billing
17.¿Adding Up the Costs
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Lisa Famiglietti is a Texas-licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP) and audiologist. She has owned a private practice that bills private and public health plans for more than 38 years. She is the past president of the Independent Therapy Providers Association (ITPA), a nonprofit trade association comprised of private practice owners in Texas. She lives in Austin.Mark Scott, a novelist and former Golden Gloves boxer, lives in Austin, Texas. He is a contributor to other publications on the history of boxing.
Summary
From the perspective of a healthcare auditor and provider, this work describes the problems of American healthcare finance and proposes solutions. Extensive charts and graphs are used to trace where money goes in the American healthcare system, while topics such as ethics in healthcare billing, un-auditable hospital costs and scams are discussed.
