Moody’s : UnitedHealth Group and TeamHealth Dispute could indirectly affect hospitals and other providers
Last week, Moody’s Investor Service reported that a contract dispute between UnitedHealth Group and physician staffing company TeamHealth could indirectly affect hospitals and other providers.
Our 2019 report highlights the growing significance of physician contracts as a major component of hospital spending, with particular growth in payment for hospital-based physician services such as hospitalists, intensivists and laborists.
How Children’s Hospitals Differ from General Acute Care Facilities
Pediatric facilities understandably have a specific set of patients and, as a result, they have different physician contracting needs than most hospitals.
Mistakes to Avoid in Hospital-Based Physician Contracts
While these arrangements benefit patients, physicians and healthcare organizations, they are usually complex and require careful attention to payment and service requirements.
Contracting for Pediatric Services? Read This First.
Many community healthcare organizations address this need by contracting with a children’s hospital or academic medical center. Several specialty physician companies also provide pediatric physician services.
What Everyone Should Know about Hospital-Based Physician Contracts
Finding comprehensive benchmarks and market data can be a challenge because these contracts have many different components, from compensation method to treatment of technical fees to incentives.
Hospital-Based Service Programs Contributing to Growth
Some of the growth in physician expenditures appears to be the result of continued growth in the number and scale of hospital-based programs and services.
Though rates at the individual service level remain relatively stable year over year, overall physician costs paid by hospitals have skyrocketed in the last decade.
