Get ready to switch to the new advance beneficiary notice of noncoverage (ABN), and use the new form as an opportunity to go over the ABCs of ABNs with administrative and clinical staff.

Experts recently warned about the increasing odds that False Claims Act (FCA) charges, with the threat of conviction and imprisonment, will be brought against providers and other personnel who previously might expected just fines and takebacks. In this interview, an author of a new book about health care and the FCA talks about what practices should know.

While proponents promote telemedicine as a way to reduce costs, a new study suggests telemedicine may actually generate higher healthcare costs when offered as an alternative to face-to-face visits.

The study, released in March by RAND Corporation and published in Health Affairs, analyzed the behavior of more than 300,000 people with access to telemedicine services and found they spent an average of $45 more per year than patients without access to telemedicine. The study authors concluded that access to telemedicine generates additional physician visits and the use of services that patients would not have otherwise pursued.

Shorten your revenue cycle and keep cash flowing by taking a close look at how you’re collecting out-of-pocket fees from patients as cost-sharing continues to shift away from insurers.

Practices that do risk-adjustment coding for Medicare Advantage plans should watch their step as the government pursues two big fraud cases that hinge on risk-adjustment issues. So far, only insurers are in the line of fire — but that may not last.