Healthcare Federal Audit
If you have been the target of a healthcare federal audit, the process can be discouraging. Having governmental bureaucrats cracking down on your business operations is both time consuming and annoying for many health providers. Here are some practical tips that can alleviate the distress that many individuals feel from the confusing policies spewing out of Washington D.C.:
1. Do not offer Medicare coverage. Instead, be like the early country doctors who bartered client services or goods in exchange for medical treatments. If an undocumented immigrant shows up, ask him to do the electrical wiring for the entry doors in exchange for his checkup. Write up a simple contract describing the trade to show to any authorities who whine about it. Another way is to just to do simple cash over the barrel treatments. This gives your customers a sense of responsibility (rather than entitlement) when approaching their checkup. It will also give you the patronage of your customers without the government greedily eyeing your tax returns.
2. If audited, don't panic. The government is trying to do its job. Although it may be doing its job poorly, that is not something you need to worry about. Focus on implementing the government's recommendations for improvement or follow step 1.
3. Emphasize client responsibility. Focus on prevention, getting your customers on healthy dietary plans that remove the need for them to claim Medicare benefits in the first place. Sadly, government subsidies for chronic conditions can provide an incentive for clients to perpetuate the underlying behaviors that are causing the disease (lack of exercise, poor diet, stress etc.)
Hopefully, these three tips may help you and your organization successfully navigate the complexities of US health care. Remember, there is always the option to go overseas, where regulations are simpler and needs greater. Vote with your feet. Send the message that what is coming out of Washington these days is not friendly to Doctors.
