Colin G. McCulloch, an Attorney in
the Health Care and Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC,
office, was quoted in HFMA Healthcare Business News, in “CMS Delays Hospital StarRatings, Pledges to Address Concerns,” by Andis Robeznieks.
Following is an excerpt:
McCulloch said that another concern was the lack of an appeals process for low
patient-experience scores. “You can’t go back to a patient and say ‘Let’s talk
about the patient experience score you gave us,’” he said.
A former hospital CFO, McCulloch advises CFOs to both continue lobbying for more
objective measures while also training staff how to appropriately answer
billing questions and address patient complaints.
“I think we’re going to see star ratings go through,” McCulloch said. “I think
it’s a positive to push back and make them more rational. But, to put your head
in the sand and say ‘It’s not going to happen’ will just add to the problems we
already have to deal with.”
