ve Short answer Read the scenario and provide BRIEF BUT DESCRIPTIVE answers to the questions. Barbara Cummings, AT, C/PT, was beginning to have second thoughts about her decision four months ago to sell her private sports medicine physical therapy practice to Universal Health Care Services. She had thought that by selling the practice to Universal, a huge medical practice conglomerate operating in 47 states, she would be able to improve her bottom line while allowing the parent company to assume the risk of adding the new, expensive equipment she so desperately needed in order to remain competitive with the local hospital's sports medicine clinic. Unfortunately, she soon discovered that Universal put so much pressure on her to increase revenue that patient care was beginning to suffer. Still, she felt she had to do something to meet Universal's expectations, or she would be forced to leave the practice she had worked so long to establish When Bob Thaxton, Universal's manager of clinic operations for 10 northern states, visited Barbara's clinic a week ago, he told Barbara that she would have to institute the following billing and insurance practices, effective immediately All new patients were to be discharged immediately once their insurance limit was met. No patient was to be discharged until his or her Insurance expired. Every patient was to be billed for a minimum of one hour of therapy in order to cover expenses associated with overhead at the home office. Patients without insurance would not be accepted. Although Barbara was upset with the new regulations, she felt that she had no choice but to conform to the standards established by the company. The day after Bob Thaxton's visit, the new regulations were implemented. 6. What potential legal pitfalls do the new billing and insurance regulations pose for Barbara and her staff? What ethical dilemmas, if any. are posed by these regulations? (5 pt) 7. How could Barbara implement the regulations without violating the law? Would her patients be well served by these actions? Why or why not? (5 pts) 8. What revenue-enhancing procedures, besides those mandated by Universal, could Barbara implement? How would these serve her patients more efficiently and effectively than those required by Universal? (5 pts)
