Bulletins

Please contact us at questions@murer.com with any questions or comments you may have. Murer Consultants shall select various questions to discuss and shall post answers on our Facebook page periodically.

PREPARING HOSPITALS FOR DISASTER RESPONSE AND RECOVERY

On June 8, 2011, Ryan Yokley, JD, MHA, Vice President at Murer Consultants, spoke at the CHRISTUS Health Emergency Management Council held in Houston, Texas. The purpose of this annual meeting is to assist CHRISTUS facilities in prospectively identifying key components necessary for establishing an effective emergency preparedness plan and procedures, as well as identification of tasks to be completed in order to maximize reimbursement opportunities for incurred loss. Mr. Yokley provided an overview of the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) Public Assistance Program, identified general expense categories eligible for FEMA reimbursement, advised of key expense documentation necessary to preserve FEMA reimbursement eligibility for each expense category and discussed key lessons learned from prior disasters including Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike.

Should you have any questions regarding the FEMA Public Assistance Program and reimbursement process, please contact Mr. Yokley directly at (815) 727-3355.

HITECH ACT AND MEDICARE & MEDICAID EHR INCENTIVE PROGRAMS

Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, both hospitals and physicians may be eligible for incentive payments to assist with the establishment, implementation, and improvement of Electronic Health Record (EHR) Systems. In order to receive these incentive payments under Medicare and/or Medicaid programs, hospitals and eligible professionals must be eligible recipients and demonstrate that they are meaningful users of certified technology. Read more about the HITECH Act and EHR incentive programs.

FEMA DISASTER RELIEF AVAILABLE FOR FACILITIES DAMAGED BY FLOODING

Are you a Private Not-For-Profit ("PNP") Health Care Provider that has been affected by recent flooding? You may be eligible for FEMA Public Assistance. The President has issued emergency declarations for parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Per emergency declarations, PNPs are generally eligible to receive FEMA reimbursement for incurred costs associated with completed emergency protective measures. Murer Consultants, Inc., has significant experience with the FEMA Request for Public Assistance filings and reimbursement process. Contact our office (815-727-3355) to further discuss and ensure your organization maximizes available federal funding opportunities.

CHERILYN MURER PRESENTS FRANCIS X. RILEY LECTURE on PROFESSIONALISM

The 18th Annual Francis X Riley Lecture on Professionalism was presented on Friday, April 1, at the Northern Illinois University College of Law by Cherilyn G. Murer. Ms. Murer will present "Recalibrating the Compass - Amorality and the Ethics of Nonfeasance". This lecture series honors Riley as part of his legacy within the legal community and at the NIU College of Law in particular. Ms. Murer is honored to have been selected to give this presentation.

MURER CONSULTANTS ARTICLE IN LOYOLA UNIVERSITY PUBLICATION

Kyle Vasquez, Senior Consultant, and Joseph Van Leer, JD Candidate 2011, collaborated on an article, "Co-Managing Your Way to Optimal Quality and Efficiency - A Guide to Clinical Co-Management Agreements", which was published in "Informed Consent", an Annals of Health Law publication for the Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy of Loyola University of Chicago College of Law. Twice yearly (January and June) the Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy publishes the Annals of Health Law, The Health Policy and Law Review of Loyola University Chicago. The Annals contains articles of general interest in health law which are deemed by the editors to make a contribution to the teaching, practice, and or public policy surrounding health law.

CHERILYN MURER IN "enterprisingWomen" Magazine

Cherilyn G. Murer is featured on pages 60 and 61 in the "Spotlight" section of "enterprisingWomen" Magazine (Vol. 12, No. 1, 2011). Ms. Murer's career in healthcare is spoken about in an article entitled "Complex World of Health-care Delivery Celebrates Long-time Champion, Friend". This informative article covers Cherilyn's career and accomplishments from the the time she was in law school to her current expertise in healthcare with Murer Consultants.

CHERILYN G. MURER IN CHICAGO SPEAKER SERIES

Cherilyn G. Murer, 2010 Northern Illinois University Distinguished Alumni Award Winner will be a presenter for the NIU Chicago Speaker Series in May 2011, at the NIU Chicago Office. Speaking on "The Chaos of Health Reform and Its Impact on You", Ms. Murer will cover the following topics:

The Social Mores and Political Positioning of Health Care Reform
The Watershed Years
Legislative Review
Health Care Reform Goals
Health Care Reform Timeline
What Will Happen Subsequent to Enactment
Question & Answer Period

Health care reform will give Americans new rights and benefits, and this should prove to be a very interesting evening of discussion.

CHERILYN MURER QUOTED IN "THE HOSPITALIST"

Cherilyn Murer was quoted in an article appearing in the November 2010 issue of "The Hospitalist" Magazine. The article "A Taxing Future of HM?" spoke of the impact of higher taxes and higher insurance payments, especially on the healthcare system. Ms. Murer stated that she "has worked with healthcare systems and providers in 42 states, but even her company has not been immune to having to contend with rising premiums. 'Our managing partner just renegotiated our health benefits [premiums] that were supposed to have gone up 30% by our previous carrier,” Murer says. “Through protracted negotiations and diligence, he was able to find a plan that did not increase our costs, and retained pretty much the same benefits.'

For at least the next three to five years, Murer says, niche firms will need to be diligent about shopping around and managing their expenses in a volatile insurance marketplace. Healthcare reform, she says, is certainly not a panacea for reining in costs, but 'just the beginning'.”

CHERILYN G. MURER ON NATIONALLY-SYNDICATED TELEVISION

On Wednesday, December 15, Cherilyn Murer was interviewed at the WCIU-TV Channel 26 studio in Chicago by business reporter, Angela Miles for the "First Business" Program. Ms. Murer's interview looked at healthcare reform legislation and whether it's working nine months after President Barack Obama signed it into law.

Before the market opens, First Business airs in most US television markets as well as worldwide through International Broadcasting Bureau Satellites. The show is a fast-moving, idea-packed half-hour that looks ahead at the coming day's trading. Ms. Murer's interview can be seen below:

CHERILYN MURER LECTURES ON "INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND HEALTHCARE"

Cherilyn G. Murer presented a lecture to more than 250 undergraduate junior and senior students in Barsema Hall at the Northern Illinois University College of Business in DeKalb, Illinois, on Wednesday, October 20, 2010, as part of a Visiting Lecture Series. The lecture, “The Role of IT in the American Healthcare Delivery System”, centered on the technological portion of doctor-patient communication. Both hospitals and physicians can benefit financially from the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Hospitals that participate in the Medicare program and are "meaningful" users of certified Electronic Health Record (EHR) technology would qualify for Medicare incentive payments under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. Certified technology, Interoperability and Quality Measures are the three requirements for being considered a meaningful EHR user. The requirements become effective in 2011, when eligible physicians and hospitals will begin receiving incentive payments. Above and beyond the incentive payments, the potential financial benefits of EHR use are much greater than a healthcare organization could gain from any government incentives. To see the slide presentation that went with this speech, please click here.

MURER JOINS DURBIN AT PODIUM FOR NATIONAL WEB CAST

On Tuesday, August 10, 2010, the University of St. Francis College of Business and Health Administration in Joliet, Illinois, hosted a symposium, "Health Care 2010 and Beyond". The keynote speaker was U.S. Senator Richard (Dick) Durbin, the Assistant Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate and Illnois' Senior Senator. Cherilyn G. Murer, President and CEO of Murer Consultants, Inc., followed Senator Durbin on the dais and provided commentary on the practical implication of health reform on physicians, hospitals and health systems. A question and answer period followed. The symposium was simultaneously web cast throughout the nation.

Senator Durbin listed the merits of the historic health care reform bill which include providing tax cuts to small businesses, allowing pre-existing conditions in obtaining insurance, helping prescription coverage for seniors, and allowing young people to be covered under their parents insurance until age 26. Since the passage last August of the bill, some of its measures have gone into effect and more will be taking effect in the future. The Senator did say, however, that this bill will continually be debated and revised in the coming months and years. Recently, Durbin was an active participant in a 16-month debate relative to health insurance reform, and he has been instrumental in healthcare and insurance reform.

Ms. Murer broke down the complex issue of healthcare reform in such a way that it could be understood, and illustrated what the legislature is trying to accomplish, as well as how the healthcare field will be able to put the laws into practice. She said that similar to the creation of Medicare in 1965, this bill is a milestone in America with a vision which says that all Americans have a right to health care. Creating both stability and consistency is the key to the bill's implementation, but it could take years to translate both the bill and all of its nuances. Murer stated she thought the inconsistency of health care regulation is what needs to be stabilized. As a caveat, she told health care personnel to "be patient, be diligent, and try to manage frustration".

MURER CODING CONSULTANT NAMED AMONG NATION'S TOP 10 IN HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

The nation's leading Health Information publication, Advance for Health Information Professionals, has named Murer Coding Consultant, Lynn Kuehn, MS, RHIA, CCS-P, PCS, CHAP, FAHIMA, as one of the Nation's Top Ten Helth Information Management Professionals for 2010. With over 20 years experience in the healthcare industry, in her role at Murer Ms. Kuehn provides operational assessment, coding and reimbursement system assessment, data quality management, compliance training, and information systems management for physician practices, surgery centers, and ancillary diagnostic service providers.

CHERILYN MURER ON PANEL AT 2009 ANNUAL INFORMATION INTEGRITY CONFERENCE

On Tuesday, November 17, 2009, Cherilyn Murer was a part of the Healthcare, Data Governance and Information Integrity Legal Issues Panel at the 2009 Annual Information Integrity Conference held at Northern Illinois University - Naperville Campus in Naperville, Illinois. Broadly speaking, Information Integrity (I*I) refers to the dependability and trustworthiness of information. Integrity of information inputs is essential for effective judgment formation, opportunity assessment, problem solving and decision making in both the for-profit and the not-for-profit sectors. The theme of this panel was medicine, which demands accuracy, consistency and reliability of information. Governance, Compliance and Law offer bounds and context for assuring information integrity. The four panelists along with a moderator presented and discussed their ideas as to what is needed to advance or improve information integrity in medicine. The Information Integrity ideas presented by Ms. Murer are attached.

CHERILYN MURER DISCUSSES HEALTH REFORM ON CHICAGO RADIO

Murer Consultants is pleased to announce that on Saturday, September 12, Cherilyn Murer had the pleasure and honor of being a guest on the "Back on the Beat" Radio Program live with Dick Kay on WCPT-AM/FM, a CNN affiliate. Mr. Kay's topic Saturday was Health Care Reform; his guests were Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and Cherilyn Murer. Senator Durbin was on during the second hour of the program; Cherilyn spoke of healthcare reform, then took questions, during the third hour. If you would like to hear Cherilyn's portion of this show, please click here.

For the last four decades, Dick Kay has been one of the biggest names in Chicago news and politics. In 2009 he retired from Chicago's WMAQ-TV where he held the longest on-air TV news job in the history of that station. Mr. Kay reported on virtually every significant local and national political event for over thirty-eight years. In addition, he was host of Channel Five's (WMAQ) outstanding political program, "City Desk". Very few people in the history of Chicago journalism have the knowledge and experience of Dick Kay. Mr. Kay now has a three-hour weekly radio show, "Back on the Beat", giving Chicago the opportunity to hear a completely different side of himself in addition to the political side they already know.

Mr. Kay's website (www.doogiesplace.com) also has a link to this radio program. All three hours of this September 12 show are on his website under "Podcasts".

UNIVERSITY OF ST. FRANCIS SYMPOSIUM EXPLORES HEALTH CARE ISSUES

In today's tumultuous times, healthcare providers must navigate the waters with neither pessimism nor fear; but with a strong does of practicality and pragmatism. Cherilyn Murer challenged more than 200 participants of a health care symposium and live webinar at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, as she discussed the application of various business strategies and techniques in an unprecedented and unstable financial and political environment. Ms. Murer gave a presentation, "Overcoming the Struggle: Health Care's Journey Through the EpiCenter of Change", to both live and webcam audiences on June 11, 2009. Reducing the cost of health care will require streamlined care, a focus on quality and efficiency, better coordination of care, adherence toe vidence-based practices and better use of health care information technology. There are 1,000 Top 100 Hospitals in this country; quality and efficiency can no longer be just a slogan. Everyone -- individuals accessing care, clinicians and health care organizations -- needs to change their behaviours. Reducing the cost of health care will require streamlined care, focus on quality and efficienty, better coordination of care, adherence to evidence-based pratices and better use of health care information technology. "It's hard work and we need people to step up to the plate", she said.

The symposium also featured a panel discussion examining patient satisfaction, the future of private insurance relative to a national health care plan, and the importance of occupational health programs.