24 APR 2024 · Next week on the FLATLINING Podcast from Fulcrum Strategies, President and CEO Ron Howrigon and Matthew Handley are joined by John Scagnelli, MD of Raleigh Neurology.  They will be discussing multiple sclerosis, a devastating disease with no known cause and no known cure.  But there is hope.  Recent research has created new advancements in treatment.  You won’t want to miss this episode of the FLATLINING Podcast.  Subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts. ---- https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-howrigon-9988976/ https://x.com/radiohandley and https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewhandley/ ---- Fulcrum Strategies is a healthcare consulting firm specializing in payer contract negotiation and strategic planning for physician practices.  Our firm has helped over 5,000 physicians in groups of all sizes and specialties across the country to significantly improve their contract language and reimbursement rates, strategically plan for the future, and achieve business success.  https://fsdoc.com

24 APR 2024 · On today’s episode of the FLATLINING Podcast from Fulcrum Strategies, President and CEO Ron Howrigon and Matthew Handley discuss some of the most pressing topics affecting physicians and their patients.   In this episode, they discuss: •    UnitedHealth Group admits they paid the ransom for the Change Healthcare cyber attack •    The Justice Department sets up an online portal for people to report anti-competitive healthcare practices •    Emergency Medicine physicians in Detroit strike against their private equity backed employer Tune in to hear more about how these topics affect patients and physicians alike. Articles mentioned in this program: https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/unitedhealth-ceo-to-testify-before-house-subcommittee-may-1.html https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/feds-launch-portal-for-reporting-anticompetitive-healthcare-deals.html https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2024/04/18/contracted-physicians-assistants-at-ascension-st-john-go-on-strike/73371750007/ ---- https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-howrigon-9988976/ https://x.com/radiohandleyand https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewhandley/ Listen to the FLATLINING Podcast from Fulcrum Strategies wherever you listen to podcasts and have every episode delivered to your email by subscribing at http://www.FLATLINING.net. ---- Fulcrum Strategies is a healthcare consulting firm specializing in payer contract negotiation and strategic planning for physician practices.  Our firm has helped over 5,000 physicians in groups of all sizes and specialties across the country to significantly improve their contract language and reimbursement rates, strategically plan for the future, and achieve business success.  https://fsdoc.com

17 APR 2024 · This week on the FLATLINING Podcast from Fulcrum Strategies, Matthew and Ron discuss the news that UnitedHealth Group posted a $1.4 billion loss in quarter 1 of 2024 following the Change Healthcare cyber attack.  They talk about whether or not providers should care about news such as this. Then, they discuss a new law going into effect in California that ups the minimum wage for healthcare workers to $25 an hour.  There could be some very dramatic setbacks to healthcare quality, access, and affordability.  Listen to the FLATLINING Podcast from Fulcrum Strategies wherever you listen to podcasts and have every episode delivered to your email by subscribing at https://www.flatlining.net Articles mentioned in this program: https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/california-health-workers-25-dollar-wage-cuts/ https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/california-health-workers-25-dollar-wage-cuts/ Follow Matthew on https://x.com/radiohandley and https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewhandley/. Follow Ron on https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-howrigon-9988976/. Fulcrum Strategies is a health care consulting firm specializing in payer contract negotiation and strategic planning for physician practices.  Learn more about what we can do for your practice at https://fsdoc.com

3 APR 2024 · Today on the FLATLINING Podcast from Fulcrum Strategies, Ron Howrigon and Matthew Handley take a look at some of the latest healthcare news.  First, they discuss changes to the Medicare Advantage rates published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; they explain why insurers are saying out of pocket expenses will go up for seniors.  Ron and Matthew also discuss Home Depot’s decision to appeal a settlement with BlueCross BlueShield to the Supreme Court; why wasn’t $2.67 billion enough for Home Depot?  Finally, they talk about why a bill to reduce prior authorizations in Kentucky falls flat. Listen to the FLATLINING Podcast from Fulcrum Strategies wherever you listen to podcasts and have every episode delivered to your email by subscribing at https://www.flatlining.net Articles mentioned in this program: https://www.beckerspayer.com/policy-updates/cms-finalizes-2025-medicare-advantage-rates.html https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-01/final-medicare-advantage-notice-shows-no-boost-from-initial-rate?embedded-checkout=true https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/home-depot-asks-supreme-court-to-rule-on-2-7b-bcbs-antitrust-settlement.html https://www.beckerspayer.com/policy-updates/kentucky-prior-authorization-gold-carding-bill-dead.html

27 MAR 2024 · Today on the FLATLINING Podcast from Fulcrum Strategies, Matthew Handley and Ron Howrigon have a conversation with Matthew Stephens, MD, a board certified radiologists at Radiology of Indiana. Dr. Stevens, Matthew, and Ron discuss the exciting topic of artificial intelligence in healthcare, particularly AI's influence in radiology.  They discuss what some of the pitfalls are of using the new technology and what might be coming next. -- Dr. Matthew Stephens is a board-certified Body Imager with a cardiothoracic radiology specialty who joined Radiology of Indiana in 2023. He received his B.S. in Chemistry from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. He also received his M.S. in Computer Science from Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN, along with another M.S. in Physiology from Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN.  His medical degree is from Indiana University School of Medicine. He also finished a fellowship in Medical Informatics from the Regenstrief Institute, Indianapolis, IN. -- Follow Matthew on http://x.com/radiohandley and https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewhandley/. Follow Ron on https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-howrigon-9988976/.

20 MAR 2024 · In this episode of the FLATLINING Podcast from Fulcrum Strategies, Ron Howrigon and Matthew Handley discuss Congress’ late fix to eliminate part of the cut to Medicare physician fee schedule.  They also discuss a recent report about a whistleblower case that alleges major accountable care organization Aledade engaged in serious Medicare fraud. -- Follow Matthew on http://x.com/radiohandley and https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewhandley/. Follow Ron on https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-howrigon-9988976/. -- Articles mentioned in this episode: https://www.flatlining.net/p/congress-nixes-part-of-the-medicarehttps://www.modernhealthcare.com/legal/aledade-medicare-fraud-lawsuit-aco-accountable-care-organizations-farzad-mostasharihttps://resources.aledade.com/aledade-news/nation-update-feb-2024/ — A previous version of this episode had an inaccurate title and an inaccurate description of a former executive at Aledade.  Those errors have been corrected.  This episode has also been updated to include a statement from Aledade.

28 FEB 2024 · Medicare Advantage continues to be one of the most profitable sectors of the health insurance industry, yet a lobby group backed by the nation's largest payers has claimed the federal government isn't paying them enough.  Fulcrum Strategies President and CEO Ron Howirgon and Matthew Handley discuss this. Plus, Elevance-owned Anthem BlueCross BlueShield in New Hampshire has royally screwed up their mail-order pharmacy benefits for NH's retired employees. Matthew and Ron also discuss why UnitedHealthcare and UNC Health are possibly going to go non-par on April 1. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or at http://www.flatlining.nethttp://x.com/radiohandley --- Articles mentioned in this program: https://www.beckerspayer.com/policy-updates/payers-urge-stability-from-cms-on-medicare-advantage.htmlhttps://www.beckerspayer.com/contracting/anthem-under-fire-for-massively-screwed-up-medicare-advantage-contract-implementation.htmlhttps://www.beckerspayer.com/contracting/unitedhealthcare-unc-health-near-split-date.html  

14 FEB 2024 · This week on the FLATLINING Podcast from Fulcrum Strategies, Ron Howrigon and Matthew Handley discuss a proposal in Washington to remove the site of service differential.  Removing that change would pay doctors the same regardless if a procedure is performed at a hospital or an office. Ron and Matthew also discuss if the Medicare fee schedule is going to change, a PhRMA's lawsuit against the Biden administration over drug price negotiations, and a Florida health plan that now owes the Federal Trade Commission $195 million. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or subscribe at http://www.flatlining.net --- Articles mentioned in this program: https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/medicare-site-neutral-payments-hospital-lobby-fight/https://www.statnews.com/2024/02/12/phrma-lawsuit-medicare-negotiate-drug-prices-tossed/https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/ftc-obtains-195m-judgment-against-florida-payer-imposes-healthcare-ban-over-bogus-product.html

7 FEB 2024 · On today's episode of the FLATLINING Podcast from Fulcrum Strategies, Ron Howrigon and Matthew Handley discuss a current US Supreme Court case that is looking at COVID-19 misinformation and free speech.  Namely, the justices are evaluating if misinformation is protected speech.  Matthew and Ron discuss what this could mean for physicians who think they are giving their medical opinion to patients or to the public on social media. Plus, Ron and Matthew discuss a new list from JUST Capital that lists Cigna and Elevance as two of the nation's most "just" companies.  What does that even mean? Listen wherever you get your podcasts or subscribe so it is delivered to your email weekly at http://www.flatlining.net/ Subscribe to the FLATLINING Podcast on https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/flatlining-podcast/id1614468366?i=1000554107617, https://open.spotify.com/show/6LLFk2xTSuQ1RsYJIXkMgm, the https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-flatlining-podcast-94121452/, https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ffbf190b-f919-46b4-a9f4-d23dec569d14/the-flatlining-podcast, https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hcGkuc3Vic3RhY2suY29tL2ZlZWQvcG9kY2FzdC83MDg4OTQucnNz, http://tinyurl.com/flatliningstitch, http://tinyurl.com/flatliningpandora, https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/The-FLATLINING-Podcast-p3084121/, and https://www.audible.com/pd/FLATLINING-Podcast-Podcast/B09V3CB68J. Articles mentioned in this episode: https://www.statnews.com/2024/02/06/supreme-court-covid-misinformation-public-health-free-speech/https://justcapital.com/rankings/https://www.beckerspayer.com/workforce/2-payers-among-the-most-just-companies.html

31 JAN 2024 · In our continuing series on prior authorization, Ron Howirgon and Matthew Handley discuss a press release from Cigna detailing all the "good" reasons big insurers like it use prior authorizations.  They claim it is to save patients money but ultimately, it saves patients' lives.  But a new law in New Jersey seems to fly in the face of that saying in its introduction that prior authorizations can be detrimental to patient health in the name of saving money.  Matthew and Ron explain. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or subscribe so it is delivered to your email weekly at http://www.flatlining.net/ Articles mentioned in this episode: https://newsroom.cigna.com/prior-authorization-keep-patients-safe-improve-health-affordabilityhttps://www.beckerspayer.com/policy-updates/new-jersey-signs-prior-authorization-reform-bill-into-law.htmlhttps://legiscan.com/NJ/text/A1255/id/2476721