Best possible payment expected for healthcare services

Abstract

A system is disclosed that is useful by hospitals and other healthcare providers for automatically determining the best possible or maximum amount of payments a healthcare provider can lawfully expect to receive for healthcare resources which takes into account various discounts agreed upon by the healthcare provider with various private insurance companies as well as public (i.e., government) insurance providers, which administer managed healthcare plans including Medicare and Medicaid, all payments received against expected payments and a yield measurement approach for determining the providers performance at a given point in time and across various segments of its operations. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, contracts between a healthcare provider and all private insurance companies and public insurance providers may be modeled. Various data including healthcare resources provided to patients up to a given point in time, applicable insurance company, and healthcare resource code are entered into the system. The system is able to calculate the best possible revenue that the healthcare provider can lawfully expect to receive taking into account the various discounts negotiated with the various insurance companies. Indeed, once the data is loaded, the system can provide an accurate snapshot of a healthcare provider's best possible expected revenues at any given time based upon services rendered instead of waiting until the healthcare resources have been billed out to insurance companies, patients, and third party payers. It can also provide an accurate snapshot of all payments received against those expected payments to determine yield across various segments of its operations.

Description

COMPUTER APPENDIX[0001]This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 789,960, filed Apr. 26, 2007, incorporated herein by reference.[0002]This application includes a Computer Listing Appendix on compact disc, hereby incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]1. Field of the Invention[0004]The present invention relates to a system and method for calculating expected payments and ultimate yield on expected payments for healthcare services and related supplies (collectively and individually referred to herein as “healthcare resources”) and more particularly a system useful by hospitals and other healthcare providers for automatically determining the best possible or maximum amount of payments a healthcare provider can lawfully expect to receive for healthcare resources which takes into account various discounts agreed upon by the healthcare provider with various private insurance companies as well as public (i.e., government) insurance provid...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013]The present invention relates to a system and method for determining payments for healthcare services and supplies (collectively “healthcare resources”) and more particularly a system useful by hospitals and other healthcare providers for automatically determining the best possible or maximum amount of payments a healthcare provider can lawfully expect to receive for healthcare resources which takes into account various discounts agreed upon by the healthcare provider with various private insurance companies as well as public (i.e., government) insurance providers, which administer managed healthcare plans including Medicare and Medicaid, the payments received by the healthcare provider against the expected payments and the yield against the expected payments realized by the healthcare provider. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, all contracts between a healthcare services provider, and all private insurance companies and public insurance providers may be modeled. Various data including healthcare resources provided to patients up to a given point in time, applicable insurance company and healthcare resource codes are entered into the system. The system is able to calculate the best possible revenue that the healthcare provider can lawfully expect to receive taking into account the various discounts negotiated with the various insurance companies. The best possible revenue can be determined irrespective of whether the healthcare provider has submitted claims to the various insurance companies at the time the determination is made. With the best possible revenue determined, yield against the best possible revenue can be calculated at any point in time. This allows healthcare providers to monitor revenue cycle execution performance and to effectively benchmark performance and effectiveness across facilities, payors, service lines and other criteria.

Problems solved by technology

These systems do not provide the healthcare provider with an accurate determination of the revenues that the healthcare provider is entitled to at any given point in time.

These systems do not reconcile payments expected and payments received on an account by account basis across all patients.

These systems do not compute the yield against expected payments realized by the healthcare provider and do not identify the sources of yield leakage or loss.

Unfortunately, the “conversion factors” in the various contracts negotiated with the insurance companies will differ.

Since most healthcare providers bill the insurance companies directly for healthcare resources, it is extremely difficult and cumbersome to determine at any given point in time the maximum amount of payments a healthcare provider can lawfully expect to receive for healthcare resources which takes into account various discounts agreed upon with the various private insurance companies and public insurance providers.

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