Hospitals seek cash enhancements to compensate for PIP's demise

The demise of Medicare's periodic interim payment program on July 1, 1987, is prompting hospital administrators to take measures that will shorten the lag time in getting claim reimbursement from Medicare and provide immediate cash to pay bills during the interruption in claims payments. Since 1968, hospitals have been able to receive equal biweekly reimbursements from fiscal intermediaries to pay the bills until Medicare claims could be processed. In July hospitals will no longer receive Medicare "prepayments," prompting an immediate six- to eight-week gap in claim reimbursement. In addition to speeding up the in-house patient billing process, administrators are exploring avenues that will have long-term cost-saving benefits. Among these is consignment buy-back, a method by which hospitals can obtain immediate cash for existing inventories while using additional cash that otherwise would have been tied up in maintaining in-stock supplies.