Employment security, health insurance, and mental health are issues that are dominating care management.
The dramatic rise in unemployment has received considerable focus across the country, with so many experiencing challenges with health insurance, access to care, and added numbers of persons at risk for issues associated with the social determinants of health (SDoH). One in 10 eligible workers have filed for claims since the pandemic escalation in mid-March, with Hawaii, Kentucky, Michigan, and Rhode Island seeing one out of every five workers filing. New York State alone has the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, currently at 1.4 million jobless claims. Other states are seeing comparably exorbitant claims rates, including especially high percentages in California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
A new combined report by SRSS and the Commonwealth Fund has confirmed the stark realities of the situation, highlighting the historic intersection of the pandemic, employment security, health insurance, and necessary access to healthcare. Over 1,000 people were surveyed the second week of April, with the following results:
The survey also mentioned the gross rise in anxiety among those who experienced a loss of employment or cuts to hours or salary. Much has been written about the massive impact of the pandemic on mental health of all populations, but this survey specifically found that:
Increased costs, decreased revenue, and rapidly rising numbers of uninsured are all of deep concern to healthcare organizations. This is reflected by the fact that over 160 health systems across the country have furloughed or laid off employees, with other entities soon to join this unfortunate club. Healthcare organizations are struggling with massive costs. However, they will soon add unprecedented numbers of healthcare employees to the growing tally of those dealing with socioeconomic and psychosocial challenges, issues previously considered only for marginal and disenfranchised populations and communities served by their employers.
This week’s Monitor Mondays Listeners Survey asked listeners about their experiences with respect to the number of patients reporting lack of health insurance. The results are viewable here, yielding considerable concerns moving forward for the health and well-being of all persons.
Programming Note: Ellen Fink-Samnick is a permanent panelist on Monitor Mondays. Listen to her live reporting every Monday at 10-10:30 a.m. EST.
As the federal government shutdown drags into its fifth week, the collapse of key safety-net supports such as nutrition benefits, health-insurance subsidies, and the disruption
Among the many responsibilities of hospital case managers, none is more critical or more impactful than the initial discharge planning evaluation. Often referred to as
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Accurately determining the principal diagnosis is critical for compliant billing, appropriate reimbursement, and valid quality reporting — yet it remains one of the most subjective and error-prone areas in inpatient coding. In this expert-led session, Cheryl Ericson, RN, MS, CCDS, CDIP, demystifies the complexities of principal diagnosis assignment, bridging the gap between coding rules and clinical reality. Learn how to strengthen your organization’s coding accuracy, reduce denials, and ensure your documentation supports true medical necessity.
Denials continue to delay reimbursement, increase administrative burden, and threaten financial stability across healthcare organizations. This essential webcast tackles the root causes—rising payer scrutiny, fragmented workflows, inconsistent documentation, and underused analytics—and offers proven, data-driven strategies to prevent and overturn denials. Attendees will gain practical tools to strengthen documentation and coding accuracy, engage clinicians effectively, and leverage predictive analytics and AI to identify risks before they impact revenue. Through real-world case examples and actionable guidance, this session empowers coding, CDI, and revenue cycle professionals to shift from reactive appeals to proactive denial prevention and revenue protection.
Sepsis remains one of the most frequently denied and contested diagnoses, creating costly revenue loss and compliance risks. In this webcast, Angela Comfort, DBA, MBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, provides practical, real-world strategies to align documentation with coding guidelines, reconcile Sepsis-2 and Sepsis-3 definitions, and apply compliant queries. You’ll learn how to identify and address documentation gaps, strengthen provider engagement, and defend diagnoses against payer scrutiny—equipping you to protect reimbursement, improve SOI/ROM capture, and reduce audit vulnerability in this high-risk area.
Only ICD10monitor delivers what you need: updates on must-know changes associated with the FY26 IPPS, including new ICD-10-CM/PCS codes, CCs/MCCs, and MS-DRGs, plus insights, analysis and answers to your questions from two of the country’s most respected subject matter experts.
Federal auditors are zeroing in on Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) and hospital rehab unit services, with OIG and CERT audits leading to millions in penalties—often due to documentation and administrative errors, not quality of care. Join compliance expert Michael Calahan, PA, MBA, to learn the five clinical “pillars” of IRF-PPS admissions, key documentation requirements, and real-life case lessons to help protect your revenue.
During this essential RACmonitor webcast Michael Calahan, PA, MBA Certified Compliance Officer, will clarify the rules, dispel common misconceptions, and equip you with practical strategies to code, document, and bill high-risk split/shared, incident-to & critical care E/M services with confidence. Don’t let audit risks or revenue losses catch your organization off guard — learn exactly what federal auditors are looking for and how to ensure your documentation and reporting stand up to scrutiny.
Learn how to navigate the proposed elimination of the Inpatient-Only list. Gain strategies to assess admission status, avoid denials, protect compliance, and address impacts across Medicare and non-Medicare payors. Essential insights for hospitals.
RACmonitor is proud to welcome back Dr. Ronald Hirsch, one of his most requested webcasts. In this highly anticipated session, Dr. Hirsch will break down the complex Two Midnight Rule Medicare regulations, translating them into clear, actionable guidance. He’ll walk you through the basics of the rule, offer expert interpretation, and apply the rule to real-world clinical scenarios—so you leave with greater clarity, confidence, and the tools to ensure compliance.
Happy National Doctor’s Day! Learn how to get a complimentary webcast on ‘Decoding Social Admissions’ as a token of our heartfelt appreciation! Click here to learn more →
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