July/Aug 2018, Nephrology Times, From the Field: Losing Money by “Saving” Money
By Rick Collins and Sarah Tolson
It is a saying I have never forgotten. “For a company to make a profit, you can cut costs or bring in more money. I prefer to bring in more money.” These words were spoken by the owner of a small company that was struggling to make ends meet. Over the years, I have … Read More »
April 2018, Nephrology Times, by Rick Collins Chief Operating Officer Sceptre Management Solutions, Inc.
Patients and providers using Sensipar® (cinacalcet) and Parsabiv™ (etelcalcetide) are experiencing significantly increased financial liability due to inconsistent coverage of the drugs by payers and the dramatic increase in the coinsurance amount assigned by Medicare Part B. The biggest causes of potential lost reimbursement for providers are Medicare … Read More »
April 2018, Nephrology News & Issues: Medicare payment for Parsabiv and Sensipar moves to Part B, by Sarah Tolson and Rick Collins
Editor’s note: In January, both Parsabiv and Sensipar moved from the Medicare Part D reimbursement to Part B for patients with end-stage renal disease. We asked Sarah Tolson and Rick Collins at Sceptre Management Solutions to explain how the change impacts dialysis providers and physicians.
Read the full article at: https://www.healio.com/nephrology/kidney-care-community/news/print/nephrology-news-and-issues/%7bbe4a80cc-e798-4d6b-9504-0a8163d77ae0%7d/medicare-payment-for-parsabiv-and-sensipar-moves-to-part-b
November 2018, Nephrology News & Issues: The Unexpected Perils of PD Billing, by Rick Collins
A few missing words and a lack of understanding have combined to make reimbursement for PD services a difficult problem for dialysis providers. While CMS generally has a good understanding of how PD should be appropriately billed and reimbursed, the same cannot be said for commercial and other government payers, including those that provide Medicare Advantage plans. In my experience, there are outpatient dialysis providers that are not being fully reimbursed for their PD services and are not aware this is happening.
Read the full article at: https://www.healio.com/nephrology/kidney-care-community/news/print/nephrology-news-and-issues/%7B8adccc45-924e-473c-a60b-26dee1f41166%7D/the-unexpected-perils-of-billing-for-pd-services
Freshman Kanyon Page caused quite a splash in the Utah High School 6A Swimming Championships earlier this month by winning the 100 Meter Backstroke and finishing third in the 200 Freestyle. While that in and of itself is an amazing accomplishment for a Freshman, his opponents never knew that Kanyon was swimming with a broken wrist!
Kanyon is the son of Sceptre employee Tammie Page. Kanyon had a skateboard accident one week before State and a doctor confirmed Kanyon’s worst fears–he had broken his wrist. Kanyon pushed ahead as best as he could during the week leading up to State. He originally hoped to be able to wear a brace or support of some sort during the meet, but was told his times would not qualify as official by some of the sport’s governing bodies. Undaunted, Kanyon chose to swim with no support of any kind and still won his favorite event, the Backstroke and finished third in swimming’s premier event, the freestyle.
The meet was on a Saturday and Tammie took her son back to the doctor the following week. Kanyon’s wrist was encased in a cast, which will remain until his fracture is healed.
The local Fox affiliate in Salt Lake City learned of Kanyon’s amazing feat and aired an interview with him during their Friday evening newscast and again during their weekly Sunday night show, Sports Page. Video of Kanyon’s swims taken by Tammie were included in the on air segment.
Sceptre congratulates Tammie and her son on this amazing accomplishment!
Photo: Tam and Kan
July/August 2018, Nephrology Times: Stop Throwing Away Your Money, Part 1, by Rick Collins
I am sickened by the many ways in which providers wind up spending money needlessly based on faulty or incomplete information. In this first of two articles, I identify two of the four most common areas which cause providers to waste money and make poor decisions. Employees in Authority Without Financial Skills In my experience, the most … Read More »
September 2018, Nephrology Times: Stop Throwing Away Your Money, Part 2, by Rick Collins
In the last issue of Nephrology Times I addressed two common ways in which healthcare providers spend money needlessly. The first was employing management personnel with no financial training and the second was contracting with incompetent vendors. While incompetent managers and vendors may be giving an honest effort, there are, unfortunately, managers and vendors that are intentionally dishonest … Read More »