Are there any special issues for accounting in the Mental Health industry?
This is part of the overall healthcare finance area. You would be
heavily involved in estimating accurate reserves on your receivables
for patient care revenue. An organization may have certain rates that
it charges for health care services and procedures. These amounts are
recorded as revenues and receivables on the books at the time the
services are performed. However, the federal and state government
(the payors for Medicare and Medicaid patients) could care less what
your charged fees are, they will pay you a price they have determined
is fair based on the type of procedure performed, location of the
hospital, etc. HMOs, PPOs, and other insurance organizations also all
have their own negotiated rates for each possible service, so they all
pay something different as well. This makes analyzing the hospital
receivable accounts a very complex job, but it must be done with every
closing of the books in order to book an accurate "contractual
adjustment expense" and related allowance amount against the
receivable. The accountants that work in this area are called
Reimbursement Accountants and if you can become skilled in this area
you will probably always have a good paying job.
Preston Singleton, CPA
Austin, Texas
