One of the key thoughts behind the idea of healthcare reform was to cut the cost of medical care. In America, more than 1 of every 6 dollars we spend is for health related expenses. (It was on track to be one of every 5 by this year- but that was before Obamacare [PPACA] was proposed and enacted.)
Continue reading Medicare sets the tone
They’re ba-ack… Not the poltergeists, although many of you may consider them part of the genre…No, it’s the required annual tax filings…
Continue reading A FIVE letter word. (OK, maybe 3 for some…)
Every business is different. Yet, every business has many, many similar components. Serving as the CEO for jewelry manufacturing venture is different from serving as the CEO for a dialysis clinic- and different still from being the managing director for a law firm. Right now, I am considering whether I wish to help start- and then manage a new health care clinic- one with a business model that will be radically different than what is normally seen.
Continue reading Are you ready?
Today is the day… One that will probably match the revolution in health care that arose almost 50 years ago. That was Medicare. This one, which will be revised as often and for the same reasons that we refined Medicare- is popularly (or is that infamously) known as Obamacare (PPACA is the legal abbreaviation for the act.)
Continue reading Today is the day!
Here it comes again! On 1 July, CMMS (the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) proposed cutting the payment of dialysis allocations by 12%. (For those of you not well versed in math- that’s about a 1/8 cut.) But, that’s not quite right, since they also offered a 2.6% increase in the “bundle” payment rate, so the cut comes to about $ 24 less per treatment.
Continue reading The Sky is Falling! Really?
I’ve written that it is critical to examine one’s business environment often. To insure that what we are doing will make sense- and money- inf the future. Most of us lack lobbyists at our beck and call to insure our business is not overcome by those changes.
Continue reading First, do no harm?
I’ve written about Obamacare often. (Here’s one such article– you can find more searching for Obamacare or PPACA via the search box to the right.) So have others. While the original goal of the concept was to improve the health of Americans, it seems that we settled for insuring most Americans and making health care more accessible. (A valid goal, but far less lofty.) But, there always is the hope that we can reduce the costs of healthcare, too.
Continue reading Sour Grapes, Low Hanging Fruit, and Fine Wine…
Let me see. Was that one blue one and two red ones and one each of the white ones? And which ones do I take in the morning and which ones at night?
Continue reading Pushing Pills
For years, the one crucial question I had to ask my business tax clients was, “Can you be considered to be a real estate professional?” (If you don’t recall my discussions on this matter, you can refer to my blog posts here and here.) Because without that certification, it’s possible that all expenses involved in rental real estate operations may not be deductible on one’s Schedule E (1040).
Continue reading There’s a New Tax in Town…
The Federal program we know as Medicare, became a reality on 30 July 1965, when it was signed into law. But, the first patients could not sign up for benefits until 1 July 1966. And, by 1979, the American Medical Association managed to get a ruling that the moneys paid to doctors under the program could not be revealed to the public. The reasoning (sic) was that this was an invasion of the physician’s privacy.
Continue reading FOIA now works for Medicare, too!