BY Darron Gill, Advisory Partner, Healthcare, Houston AND Britni Barsness, Advisory Director, Financial Due Diligence Here we are again with the dawn of a new year, and questions regarding what 2024 will bring for dealmakers in healthcare and life sciences (HCLS) are front and center in the minds of many.  At KPMG, we are happy to present our thoughts around these questions in our 2024 HCLS Investment Outlook (the Outlook). The Outlook is published annually...

BY Catherine Lightfoot, CPA, CHBC, Director of Healthcare at EEPB Your busy medical practice is an easy target for embezzlers. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, approximately $25 billion annually is lost in medical practice offices from employee theft and fraud. Unfortunately, it is difficult to detect these in-house crimes, as they typically occur across several areas of the practice over several years—potentially adding up to huge amounts. Such behaviors can be categorized...

BY Catherine Lightfoot, CPA, CHBC, Director, Healthcare, EEPB Remember the Y2K drama? As the year 2000 approached, many believed computer systems originally coded in two-digit date format (MM/DD/YY) would not interpret the “00” correctly and throw us back to 1900, causing a major malfunction with profound business implications. It is now Deja vu in the tax arena with respect to the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). As several TCJA-related rules are scheduled to...

BY Catherine Lightfoot, CPA, CHBC, Director of Healthcare at EEPB   On September 14th, the IRS announced a pause on its review of new Employer Retention Credit (ERC) claims through December 31, 2023. They cited this action to “protect taxpayers from scams” due to a “surge of questionable claims.” How does the new announcement affect you? Many have already reaped the benefits of the ERC program. Others have outstanding claims and are waiting for a...

BY Stacy Nahas, Audit Chief Client Care Officer, and Christian Peo, National Managing Partner-Audit Quality & Professional Practice, KPMG US   In the current economic climate, organizations have had to adapt their disclosures and SEC filings to accommodate evolving risk areas. The volatile environment has left organizations unsure about the extent to which they will be impacted, while an increase in SEC comment letters has underscored the need for many organizations to gain deeper insight...

BY Catherine Lightfoot, CPA, CHBC, Director, Healthcare, EEPB The wait is over. The US Supreme Court voted 6-3 against President Bidens’ broad student loan forgiveness plan on Friday, June 30, 2023. During the forbearance, which began in March 2020, federal student loan payments were not required to be paid and interest did not accrue. Three years and nine extensions later, student debt bills could come as a shock to approximately 44 million borrowers. And borrowers...

BY Dr. Jay Bhatt, D.O., MPH, MPA, Executive Director, Deloitte Center for Health Solutions (DCHS) and the Deloitte Health Equity Institute (DHEI), Deloitte   We’ve all seen the headlines: Job satisfaction and employee productivity levels are plummeting while cases of burnout and absenteeism are skyrocketing. Employee mental health is declining, and work/life integration is far from balanced. With 4.5 million Americans walking away from their jobs in March alone, the so-called Great Resignation isn’t showing...

BY Catherine Lightfoot, CPA, CHBC, Director of Healthcare at EEPB Is your practice looking to change your EMR?  There are many reasons a practice could be due for a change.  Maybe you have become dissatisfied with your current system.  Maybe you have outgrown the system you are using.  Maybe the software company merged or was bought out and you are no longer satisfied with the support.  Whatever the reason, changing your EMR system is a...

BY Todd Ellis, Advisory Principal, Customer and Operations Health & Government Practice, and Health Equity Sector Leader   In America, the same city may encompass markedly different neighborhoods with divergent education, health care, home ownership, food quality and meaningful employment. These social determinants of health help determine whether a community will thrive or struggle. In Houston’s Harris County, for example, the lack of access to education and higher rates of unemployment, homelessness and poverty correlate...

BY Catherine Lightfoot, CPA, CHBC, Director of Healthcare at EEPB Are you approaching retirement age? If so, you will want to know about the SECURE 2.0 Act signed into law by President Biden on December 29, 2022. This most recent legislation makes notable changes to qualified retirement plans, expanding upon the original SECURE Act of 2019. The primary purpose of both laws is to encourage more savings for retirement by extending the age at which...