Southwest Consulting Associates Blog

Today, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released the long-awaited 340B Program Omnibus Guidelines (Mega-Guidance) for public viewing on the Federal Register website.  According to the site, the Mega-Guidance will officially be published on Friday, August 28, 2015 and public comments should be submitted on or before TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2015 (60 days after the Federal Register publication date).  The pre-publication document can be found at:

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) posted that they concluded their review of the 340B Program Omnibus Guidelines (Mega-Guidance) on August 17, 2015.  If you remember, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) sent the 340B Mega-Guidance to the OMB on May 6, 2015 and on August 4, 2015, the OMB posted that the review of the Mega-Guidance was extended.

The 2016 IPPS Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on August 17, 2015 and will be effective October 1, 2015.  Below is SCA’s “as brief as we can make it” summary on the rule as it affects disproportionate share hospitals (DSH).  We will be rolling out more detailed analysis in the coming weeks with our take on the impact to Uncompensated Care Reimbursement (UC).

In our last post, we covered the ins and outs of 340B recertifcation.  Here is a quick rundown of the recertification process and since the process can seem overwhelming, we thought we'd equip you with some helpful tips/best practices to make the process smoother for covered entities.

On May 14, 2015, CMS posted the FY 2013 SSI ratios to their website.  The FY 2013 SSI ratios should be used for computing the Disproportionate Share Hospital payment for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 2012, and before October 1, 2013.  The FY 2013 SSI ratio file (DSH Adjustment and 2012-2013 File [ZIP, 274KB]) can be found in the Downloads section of CMS' Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) webpage or by following the link below:

As promised, we have an update to share from our “Front & Center with SCA President, Michael Newell: Alert 10 In Action.” post.  Last week, a decision was issued by the Provider Reimbursement Review Board (PRRB) in Barberton Citizens Hospital v. CGS Administrators, LLC/Blue Cross Blue Shield Association  (Barberton) in which the PRRB ruled in favor of Barberton.  The PRRB concluded that it has jurisdiction to hear Barberton’s appeal to include additional Medicaid eligible days in the Medicare DSH calculation that were not included in the hospital’s as-filed cost report.  

On Friday, December 19th, SCA employees volunteered their time assisting Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support with their 2014 holiday community outreach event.  While spreading holiday cheer, SCA employees found themselves organizing family gifts, wrapping gifts and assisting with family gift pick-ups.  

Genesis’ mission is to end the epidemic of domestic violence against women and children by stopping individual victimization and reducing the devastating impact of family violence through safety, shelter and expert services to battered women and their children.

On Saturday, December 6th, Southwest Consulting Associates (SCA) hosted its annual holiday party for employees, spouses and guests.

In 2013, SCA instituted an award for employees who embody the company at its very best by exhibiting exceptional commitment and achievements that stand out amongst their peers.  The award was named the David P. Pfeil Quality & Commitment Pinnacle Award in honor of the man who founded SCA on the principles of trust and integrity.  Mr. Pfeil felt very strongly about commitment to our clients and ourselves and also about providing high quality, compliant services in a timely and thorough manner.  He continually emphasized quality over quantity. This award recognizes those employees who not only excelled in their job each day, but did so in a manner that demonstrated the highest level of commitment to SCA, their co-workers, our clients and with the highest quality.

Each year, Southwest Consulting Associates takes time to celebrate the holiday season as a ‘family‘ by hosting a Thanksgiving Luncheon for its employees.  In conjunction with the luncheon, SCA employees collect and donate necessities to a local charity.  This year, SCA chose to partner with Shiloh Place McKinney.

Shiloh Place McKinney’s mission is to equip single mothers with financial independence and personal wholeness by addressing their educational, emotional and spiritual needs.