MEDICARE DSH

WORKSHEET S-10 UNCOMPENSATED CARE (UCC)

Government Data Services (GDS) will work with your hospitals to accurately quantify S-10 using our proprietary process as follows:

• Obtain the S-10 account logs for all accounts currently listed for the time period under review.
• Review submitted logs and validate accounts for inclusion in the S-10 logs.
• Identify questionable S-10 write-offs that require further research, additional actions taken, or more documentation, and present findings in well-organized Exception Reports.
• Identify claims from the initial S-10 logs that need to be removed.
• Eliminate any non-allowable charges that were written-off for S-10 improperly.
• Reconcile Account data to the collection agency reports and database if needed.
• Reconcile the remaining amounts against the hospital’s encounter and transaction data to ensure all non-Medicare write-offs are handled and counted properly for S-10.

GDS’s unique process integrates this disparate data and delivers accurate findings in a format that can be easily submitted to the MAC and CMS.

Keep Categories Separate

To reduce the risk of large audit adjustments, GDS will maintain S-10 amounts into three categories:

• Non-Medicare accounts with insurance – unpaid deductibles and coinsurance amounts for patients with the ability to pay may be handled as bad debt or uncompensated amounts.
• Self-Pay accounts – Self-Pay discount amounts and the remaining patient responsibility for patients capable of paying may be allowable as uncompensated amounts or bad debt.
• Charity/indigent accounts – Accounts for patients with charity or indigent status who can pay little or nothing of invoiced amounts may be allowable as charity or uncompensated amounts.

Process

GDS will use a multi-step process to produce S-10 results that will reduce any major negative reimbursement impact while maximizing the potential reimbursement. This process will also identify other potential claims for inclusion that were not previously identified by the provider. GDS will produce and provide the following S-10 logs for filing:

• Non-Medicare S-10 Bad Debt Logs
• Charity/Uninsured Discount/Uncompensated S-10 Logs

Summary

GDS understands that healthcare providers looking to recover more of their S-10 amounts can take steps to ensure reimbursement is made. Reimbursement is particularly important now while it is still available. Critical measures include keeping accurate records, maintaining standard procedures and required elements, and tracking bad debts throughout the year.

By following these recommended steps and utilizing experienced, external professionals for assistance, healthcare providers may be able to identify significant S-10 sums that may otherwise "fall through the cracks."