In this episode of the MGMA Week in Review podcast, hosts Daniel Williams and Colleen Luckett share the latest healthcare industry news, including proposed changes to Medicare payments, healthcare consumer experience trends, and an Emmy-nominated medical drama. Plus, they highlight a leadership story from MGMA Connection Magazine and spotlight MGMA’s Women Healthcare Leaders Resource Group.
Key Takeaways:
00:50 Welcome and Introduction
01:25 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Updates (Medical Economics)
04:14 The Importance of First-Time Energy in Patient Care (Physician’s Practice)
06:12 Authenticity in Medical Dramas (Chief Healthcare Executive)
08:07 Healthcare Communication and Consumer Satisfaction (Smart Communications 2025 Healthcare Benchmark Report)
11:31 Inspiring Leadership Journey (MGMA Connection Magazine)
13:16 Conclusion and Call for Contributions
Additional Resources:
Email us at dwilliams@mgma.com if you would like to appear on an episode. If you have a question about your practice that you would like us to answer, send an email to advisor@mgma.com. Don't forget to subscribe to our network wherever you get your podcasts.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Daniel Williams (00:06):
Well, hi, everyone, and welcome to the
MGMA week in review podcast.Daniel Williams here along with
cohost Colleen Luckett. We'reeditors and writers at MGMA, and
we're your cohost for the MGMAWeek in Review where each week
we bring you the latest healthcare industry news, policy
updates, expert insights, andstories from the field that we
(00:29):
find interesting. So, Colleen,hello.
Colleen Luckett (00:32):
Hello. Hello, everyone out there. Up first, if
your week's been a balancing actbetween staff shortages, payer
negotiations, and about 47 openbrowser tabs. You're not alone,
my friends. But here's somethingyou'll want to keep on your
radar.
The Centers for Medicare andMedicaid Services just dropped
the proposed 2026 Medicarephysician fee schedule, if you
(00:54):
haven't seen it yet. It'spacking some big changes that
could ripple through yourpractice operations, especially
if you're focused on chroniccare, telehealth, or skin
substitutes, interestingly. Sohere's the rundown from medical
economics on July 14 is whenthey published this. So chronic
disease and specialty care arecenter stage. A new ambulatory
(01:16):
specialty model will launch in2027, holding specialists
accountable for performance andcosts, starting with heart
failure and low back pain.
Think fewer hospitalizations,more early detection, and
incentives for tech savvy teambased care. Next up, physician
payment updates include separateconversion factors for QPs and
(01:39):
non QPs. Both groups get a bumparound 3.8%, but the biggest
shift, CMS is pushing forempirical data over outdated
survey methods to set values,possibly a nod to more realistic
reimbursement metrics in thefuture. Prevention and wellness
take the spotlight as well. CMSwants to move from reactive to
(02:00):
proactive care by eliminating 10underperforming quality measures
and adding five new ones focusedon disease prevention, like
diabetes prescreening.
The Medicare diabetes preventionprogram could soon offer more
coaching and support at no costto patients. Telehealth
flexibility from the COVID eramay become permanent. Yay. And
(02:21):
CMS is also looking to expanddigital mental health device
coverage, a win for hybrid andvirtual care models. And and
about those skin substitutes,Medicare spending exploded from
256,000,000 in 2019 to awhopping $10,000,000,000 in
2024.
CMS is aiming to slash costs upto 90% by cracking down on
(02:42):
pricing abuses and tying paymentto clinical evidence. According
to Doctor. Oz and RFK Jr, thegoal is modernizing Medicare,
reducing waste, and, quote,protecting hometown doctors.
Interpret that as you will, buteither way, this proposed rule
will have real implications forpractice leaders trying to stay
afloat in today's health careeconomy. CMS is accepting
(03:06):
comments for sixty days.
So if you've got thoughts, andyou probably do, now's the time
to weigh in for a deeper diveand links to the full article.
Of course, always check out ourshow notes for the link to the
full article at MedicalEconomics. Okay, Daniel, over to
you.
Daniel Williams (03:22):
Colleen, thank you so much for that. And for
our next story, I wanna share anarticle I came across on
physician's practice. This onestood out to me, and I wanted to
share it with y'all. It's calledEvery Patient Deserves Your
First Time Energy. It waswritten by Doctor.
Neil Baum. Now the idea here ispretty simple, but definitely
(03:44):
worth saying out loud. No matterhow many times you've explained
something, whether it'sdirections to the restroom, post
op instructions,
Colleen Luckett (03:52):
or
Daniel Williams (03:52):
how a procedure works, every patient deserves to
feel like it's your first timesaying it. Doctor Baum compares
it to being on stage. He tells astory about doing 30 magic shows
over three days at a trade show.Even though he said the same
lines over and over, eachaudience saw him for the first
(04:13):
time, so he made sure to bringthat fresh energy every single
time. And it's the same inhealth care.
I like how he puts it,Repetition is your burden, not
the patient's. They don't knowyou've had that same
conversation 10 times alreadythat morning. Another cool
example in the piece, hementions a colleague who uses a
(04:34):
pre recorded video to explainmedical procedures so the
patient can get consistentinformation, but there's still
that face to face follow-upwhere the doctor's showing up
fully present. He even brings inJoe DiMaggio, how he played
every game like someone in thecrowd might be seeing him for
the first and only time. Samemindset applies here.
(04:57):
Bottom line, whether it's thefirst question or the one
hundredth, the patient deservesthat same focus and energy. Easy
thing to forget in a busypractice, but worth coming back
to. Alright, Colleen. What'snext?
Colleen Luckett (05:13):
Wow. I can really relate to that. When I
was teaching full time, you areon a stage, and it is
exhausting. So I can't reallyrelate to that message, but it's
important. Alright.
Up next, our MGMA members knowbetter than anyone that real
life emergency medicine isn'talways what you're TV, but a new
hit drama is changing thatnarrative. And I have a fun
(05:35):
story for you all. So in thearticle called The Pit scores 13
Emmy nominations in a Pittsburghhospital played a key role,
published July 16 in chiefhealthcare executive by Ron
Southwick. We learn how The Pit,HBO Max's breakout hospital
drama earned 13 Emmy nods thisweek, including best drama and
(05:56):
best actor for Noah Wiley.Remember that guy from ER?
He's back in the hospital. Sowhat makes this show different?
Authenticity. The productionteam worked closely with
Allegheny General Hospital, partof Highmark Health, to film key
scenes and accurately depict theintensity of a busy urban trauma
center. Staff gave real worldinput, helped shape the tone of
(06:19):
the series, and even coordinatedthe logistics of a rooftop
helicopter scene, which by pureluck had zero landings that day.
Highmark's Dan Laurent says thehospital typically turns down
filming requests, but the show'svision to honor frontline
workers and portray emergencycare with realism won them over.
The result, a drama praised byboth critics and clinicians. You
(06:43):
can read the full article overat chief health care executive,
and we'll also, of course, dropthe link in our show notes as
usual. And keep your eyes peeledseason two of The Pit premieres
in January 2026. And who knows?
Maybe next awards season, we'llsee one of our own MGMA members
getting their fifteen minutes offame. Just don't forget all of
us little people when you hitthe big time, guys. Okay,
(07:04):
Daniel. Back to you.
Daniel Williams (07:05):
Alright. Thank you so much. And I have had that
bookmarked to watch that showfor a while. And now that I see
the praise it's getting, I'mdefinitely gonna check that out.
So thank you So so for our nextstory, we're looking at new data
from SMART Communications 2025Healthcare Benchmark Report on
Customer Experience andCommunications.
(07:28):
There's some good news forhealthcare leaders here.
Healthcare consumers reportedthe biggest jump in satisfaction
with communications compared toother industries. According to
the report, 62% of consumersoverall rate healthcare,
banking, and insurancecommunications as good or
(07:49):
excellent. And, healthcareactually saw a 75% improvement
since 2018, and that's ahead ofbanking and insurance. So, some
real progress being made.
That said, there are still majorpain points. One is forms.
That's right, forms. Digitalforms, intake forms, enrollment
(08:13):
forms. Anytime a patient has tofill something out, it's a form
and we don't like it.
I'm speaking for patients here.And when that process is slow or
confusing, people check out.According to the report, sixty
six percent of all consumersabandon a process if the form is
too difficult, and that numberjumps up for younger folks.
(08:36):
Seventy three percent ofmillennials, seventy one percent
of Gen Z say they've bailed midform having a 20 year old. I
believe it.
What people want is speed andsimplicity. Nine out of 10
respondents said that'sessential. And here's something
else. 63% of consumers preferguided, interactive digital
(08:59):
forms over those static PDFs.And 77% now expect more
companies to offer digital dataintake as standard.
Print and Scan just isn'tcutting it anymore. The report
also highlights an omni channelgap. Only 54% of consumers say
they're satisfied with theiromni channel health care
(09:21):
experience. That meanscommunication across email,
text, portals just having tobounce back and forth. And they
say the consistency isn't alwaysthere and that it erodes trust.
In fact, 60% said they'd trusthealth care companies more if
experiences were consistentacross all channels. So, some
(09:44):
quick takeaways. One, formsaren't just paperwork. They're
that patient's first impression.If the process is frustrating,
it can cost you patience.
Two, health care has made realprogress in consumer engagement,
but omnichannel consistency is abig opportunity. Three, digital
(10:04):
forms, digital first forms,communications aren't a luxury
anymore. They're really thatbaseline expectations that
patients have. So again, that'sfrom SMART Communications 2025
Healthcare Benchmark Report.We'll have that linked in the
episode description if you wannacheck it out in full.
(10:25):
I love that, Colleen. So now I'mgonna just turn it over to you.
Colleen Luckett (10:28):
Yeah. That is timely. We had a internal
training here at MGMA, and myteam actually brought that up,
like, all the paperwork we haveto get through. So we are
definitely thinking about thatover here, ways to help you all
out on that. For our lastsegment, I wanna leave you all
with something a little closerto home.
It's a must read article fromthe July issue of MGMA
(10:50):
Connection magazine. It's calledFrom Bogota to the Boardroom.
It's written by the incrediblePaola Turci, who is a health
care revenue cycle executive andproud Colombian immigrant. In
this piece, she shares hercareer journey with honesty,
vulnerability, and deep insight.She reflects on what it means to
lead as a woman and animmigrant.
(11:11):
Navigating systems not with herin mind, battling impostor
syndrome. Oh, I know that one.And building her own board of
directors for support along theway. This piece is a powerful
reminder that leadership isabout lifting others as you
climb, staying grounded in yourvalues, and showing up with both
head and heart. If you've everfelt like the only one in the
(11:33):
room, or if you're helping tobuild rooms that are more
inclusive and equitable, Paola'sstory will speak directly to
you.
Beyond her executive role, Paolaalso helps lead MGMA's Women
Healthcare Leaders ResourceGroup here, a space where women
can connect, grow, and supportone another in the industry. All
of these resource groups willalso be hosting sessions at our
(11:54):
MGMA Leaders Conference inOrlando this fall, and their
next virtual events and meetingswill take place in November. So
keep an eye out. We will dropthe link to all resource groups
in our show notes. You can checkthose out and see if there's one
that you wanna join.
And you can read Paola's fullarticle now at
ngma.com/articles. And I'mtelling you guys, it's one of
(12:17):
the most personal and powerfulpieces that we published this
year in my opinion, and I reallyhope you'll take a moment to
check it out. Okay, Daniel. Thatis it for me. Over to you.
Daniel Williams (12:26):
Alright. And that is it for this week's MGMA
week in review. Everybody, thankyou so much for being podcast
listeners. Please, we've saidthis before, but if you have a
story you want us to read, ifyou wanna write an article like
Paula did, if you wanna be on apodcast, send us a note. We'll
provide all the links to that inour episode show notes.
(12:49):
So until then, have a greatweekend.
Well, hi, everyone, and welcome to the
MGMA week in review podcast.Daniel Williams here along with
cohost Colleen Luckett. We'reeditors and writers at MGMA, and
we're your cohost for the MGMAWeek in Review where each week
we bring you the latest healthcare industry news, policy
updates, expert insights, andstories from the field that we
(00:29):
find interesting. So, Colleen,hello.
Colleen Luckett (00:32):
Hello. Hello, everyone out there. Up first, if
your week's been a balancing actbetween staff shortages, payer
negotiations, and about 47 openbrowser tabs. You're not alone,
my friends. But here's somethingyou'll want to keep on your
radar.
The Centers for Medicare andMedicaid Services just dropped
the proposed 2026 Medicarephysician fee schedule, if you
(00:54):
haven't seen it yet. It'spacking some big changes that
could ripple through yourpractice operations, especially
if you're focused on chroniccare, telehealth, or skin
substitutes, interestingly. Sohere's the rundown from medical
economics on July 14 is whenthey published this. So chronic
disease and specialty care arecenter stage. A new ambulatory
(01:16):
specialty model will launch in2027, holding specialists
accountable for performance andcosts, starting with heart
failure and low back pain.
Think fewer hospitalizations,more early detection, and
incentives for tech savvy teambased care. Next up, physician
payment updates include separateconversion factors for QPs and
(01:39):
non QPs. Both groups get a bumparound 3.8%, but the biggest
shift, CMS is pushing forempirical data over outdated
survey methods to set values,possibly a nod to more realistic
reimbursement metrics in thefuture. Prevention and wellness
take the spotlight as well. CMSwants to move from reactive to
(02:00):
proactive care by eliminating 10underperforming quality measures
and adding five new ones focusedon disease prevention, like
diabetes prescreening.
The Medicare diabetes preventionprogram could soon offer more
coaching and support at no costto patients. Telehealth
flexibility from the COVID eramay become permanent. Yay. And
(02:21):
CMS is also looking to expanddigital mental health device
coverage, a win for hybrid andvirtual care models. And and
about those skin substitutes,Medicare spending exploded from
256,000,000 in 2019 to awhopping $10,000,000,000 in
2024.
CMS is aiming to slash costs upto 90% by cracking down on
(02:42):
pricing abuses and tying paymentto clinical evidence. According
to Doctor. Oz and RFK Jr, thegoal is modernizing Medicare,
reducing waste, and, quote,protecting hometown doctors.
Interpret that as you will, buteither way, this proposed rule
will have real implications forpractice leaders trying to stay
afloat in today's health careeconomy. CMS is accepting
(03:06):
comments for sixty days.
So if you've got thoughts, andyou probably do, now's the time
to weigh in for a deeper diveand links to the full article.
Of course, always check out ourshow notes for the link to the
full article at MedicalEconomics. Okay, Daniel, over to
you.
Daniel Williams (03:22):
Colleen, thank you so much for that. And for
our next story, I wanna share anarticle I came across on
physician's practice. This onestood out to me, and I wanted to
share it with y'all. It's calledEvery Patient Deserves Your
First Time Energy. It waswritten by Doctor.
Neil Baum. Now the idea here ispretty simple, but definitely
(03:44):
worth saying out loud. No matterhow many times you've explained
something, whether it'sdirections to the restroom, post
op instructions,
Colleen Luckett (03:52):
or
Daniel Williams (03:52):
how a procedure works, every patient deserves to
feel like it's your first timesaying it. Doctor Baum compares
it to being on stage. He tells astory about doing 30 magic shows
over three days at a trade show.Even though he said the same
lines over and over, eachaudience saw him for the first
(04:13):
time, so he made sure to bringthat fresh energy every single
time. And it's the same inhealth care.
I like how he puts it,Repetition is your burden, not
the patient's. They don't knowyou've had that same
conversation 10 times alreadythat morning. Another cool
example in the piece, hementions a colleague who uses a
(04:34):
pre recorded video to explainmedical procedures so the
patient can get consistentinformation, but there's still
that face to face follow-upwhere the doctor's showing up
fully present. He even brings inJoe DiMaggio, how he played
every game like someone in thecrowd might be seeing him for
the first and only time. Samemindset applies here.
(04:57):
Bottom line, whether it's thefirst question or the one
hundredth, the patient deservesthat same focus and energy. Easy
thing to forget in a busypractice, but worth coming back
to. Alright, Colleen. What'snext?
Colleen Luckett (05:13):
Wow. I can really relate to that. When I
was teaching full time, you areon a stage, and it is
exhausting. So I can't reallyrelate to that message, but it's
important. Alright.
Up next, our MGMA members knowbetter than anyone that real
life emergency medicine isn'talways what you're TV, but a new
hit drama is changing thatnarrative. And I have a fun
(05:35):
story for you all. So in thearticle called The Pit scores 13
Emmy nominations in a Pittsburghhospital played a key role,
published July 16 in chiefhealthcare executive by Ron
Southwick. We learn how The Pit,HBO Max's breakout hospital
drama earned 13 Emmy nods thisweek, including best drama and
(05:56):
best actor for Noah Wiley.Remember that guy from ER?
He's back in the hospital. Sowhat makes this show different?
Authenticity. The productionteam worked closely with
Allegheny General Hospital, partof Highmark Health, to film key
scenes and accurately depict theintensity of a busy urban trauma
center. Staff gave real worldinput, helped shape the tone of
(06:19):
the series, and even coordinatedthe logistics of a rooftop
helicopter scene, which by pureluck had zero landings that day.
Highmark's Dan Laurent says thehospital typically turns down
filming requests, but the show'svision to honor frontline
workers and portray emergencycare with realism won them over.
The result, a drama praised byboth critics and clinicians. You
(06:43):
can read the full article overat chief health care executive,
and we'll also, of course, dropthe link in our show notes as
usual. And keep your eyes peeledseason two of The Pit premieres
in January 2026. And who knows?
Maybe next awards season, we'llsee one of our own MGMA members
getting their fifteen minutes offame. Just don't forget all of
us little people when you hitthe big time, guys. Okay,
(07:04):
Daniel. Back to you.
Daniel Williams (07:05):
Alright. Thank you so much. And I have had that
bookmarked to watch that showfor a while. And now that I see
the praise it's getting, I'mdefinitely gonna check that out.
So thank you So so for our nextstory, we're looking at new data
from SMART Communications 2025Healthcare Benchmark Report on
Customer Experience andCommunications.
(07:28):
There's some good news forhealthcare leaders here.
Healthcare consumers reportedthe biggest jump in satisfaction
with communications compared toother industries. According to
the report, 62% of consumersoverall rate healthcare,
banking, and insurancecommunications as good or
(07:49):
excellent. And, healthcareactually saw a 75% improvement
since 2018, and that's ahead ofbanking and insurance. So, some
real progress being made.
That said, there are still majorpain points. One is forms.
That's right, forms. Digitalforms, intake forms, enrollment
(08:13):
forms. Anytime a patient has tofill something out, it's a form
and we don't like it.
I'm speaking for patients here.And when that process is slow or
confusing, people check out.According to the report, sixty
six percent of all consumersabandon a process if the form is
too difficult, and that numberjumps up for younger folks.
(08:36):
Seventy three percent ofmillennials, seventy one percent
of Gen Z say they've bailed midform having a 20 year old. I
believe it.
What people want is speed andsimplicity. Nine out of 10
respondents said that'sessential. And here's something
else. 63% of consumers preferguided, interactive digital
(08:59):
forms over those static PDFs.And 77% now expect more
companies to offer digital dataintake as standard.
Print and Scan just isn'tcutting it anymore. The report
also highlights an omni channelgap. Only 54% of consumers say
they're satisfied with theiromni channel health care
(09:21):
experience. That meanscommunication across email,
text, portals just having tobounce back and forth. And they
say the consistency isn't alwaysthere and that it erodes trust.
In fact, 60% said they'd trusthealth care companies more if
experiences were consistentacross all channels. So, some
(09:44):
quick takeaways. One, formsaren't just paperwork. They're
that patient's first impression.If the process is frustrating,
it can cost you patience.
Two, health care has made realprogress in consumer engagement,
but omnichannel consistency is abig opportunity. Three, digital
(10:04):
forms, digital first forms,communications aren't a luxury
anymore. They're really thatbaseline expectations that
patients have. So again, that'sfrom SMART Communications 2025
Healthcare Benchmark Report.We'll have that linked in the
episode description if you wannacheck it out in full.
(10:25):
I love that, Colleen. So now I'mgonna just turn it over to you.
Colleen Luckett (10:28):
Yeah. That is timely. We had a internal
training here at MGMA, and myteam actually brought that up,
like, all the paperwork we haveto get through. So we are
definitely thinking about thatover here, ways to help you all
out on that. For our lastsegment, I wanna leave you all
with something a little closerto home.
It's a must read article fromthe July issue of MGMA
(10:50):
Connection magazine. It's calledFrom Bogota to the Boardroom.
It's written by the incrediblePaola Turci, who is a health
care revenue cycle executive andproud Colombian immigrant. In
this piece, she shares hercareer journey with honesty,
vulnerability, and deep insight.She reflects on what it means to
lead as a woman and animmigrant.
(11:11):
Navigating systems not with herin mind, battling impostor
syndrome. Oh, I know that one.And building her own board of
directors for support along theway. This piece is a powerful
reminder that leadership isabout lifting others as you
climb, staying grounded in yourvalues, and showing up with both
head and heart. If you've everfelt like the only one in the
(11:33):
room, or if you're helping tobuild rooms that are more
inclusive and equitable, Paola'sstory will speak directly to
you.
Beyond her executive role, Paolaalso helps lead MGMA's Women
Healthcare Leaders ResourceGroup here, a space where women
can connect, grow, and supportone another in the industry. All
of these resource groups willalso be hosting sessions at our
(11:54):
MGMA Leaders Conference inOrlando this fall, and their
next virtual events and meetingswill take place in November. So
keep an eye out. We will dropthe link to all resource groups
in our show notes. You can checkthose out and see if there's one
that you wanna join.
And you can read Paola's fullarticle now at
ngma.com/articles. And I'mtelling you guys, it's one of
(12:17):
the most personal and powerfulpieces that we published this
year in my opinion, and I reallyhope you'll take a moment to
check it out. Okay, Daniel. Thatis it for me. Over to you.
Daniel Williams (12:26):
Alright. And that is it for this week's MGMA
week in review. Everybody, thankyou so much for being podcast
listeners. Please, we've saidthis before, but if you have a
story you want us to read, ifyou wanna write an article like
Paula did, if you wanna be on apodcast, send us a note. We'll
provide all the links to that inour episode show notes.
(12:49):
So until then, have a greatweekend.
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