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...

BY Catherine Lightfoot, CPA, CHBC, Director of Healthcare at EEPB Overview of recent Medicare-Medicaid legislation On January 5, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an updated CY 2023 physician conversion factor (CF) of $33.8872. This update reflects a 2.5% positive adjustment from the initial quote of $33.0607 announced last November. That initial physician CF represented a 4.47% cut from the prior year. The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), signed into law on...

BY Darron J. Gill, Advisory Partner, Healthcare, KPMG As a partner in KPMG U.S. Healthcare and Life Sciences (HCLS) Deal Advisory practice, I am often asked in the early months of a new year about what is happening in the deal market and what I am expecting for the new year. More voices discussing a topic is better than one, so the KPMG U.S. Deal Advisory practice has been publishing its HCLS Investment Outlook every...

BY Stacy Nahas, Audit Chief Client Care Officer, KPMG   In today’s business world there’s no shortage of volatility as inflation and supply chain disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted economies everywhere. For senior financial reporting executives — Corporate Controllers and Chief Accounting Officers in particular — there are a number of challenging issues that remain top of mind as they look to stay competitive in their industries.   ESG This topic...

By Catherine Lightfoot, CPA, CHBC, Director of Healthcare at EEPB In 2022, the world emerged out of the COVID-19 pandemic with the highest inflation rates we have seen in years. Additionally, political uncertainty stalled any significant tax changes. In this economically daunting period of time, there are still tax planning strategies worth considering before year-end. I recommend you take a look at what tax-lowering options may work for you. Harvesting Capital Losses Review your investments...

BY Katie Dahler, National Life Sciences Leader, KPMG   As demand for pharmaceutical cost containment intensifies, novel drug-pricing approaches are critical.   First, an unprecedented number of blockbuster drugs came off patent over the last decade, and manufacturers were not able to pump out new drug innovations fast enough to replace them. The result was that sales and profit growth for most major pharmaceutical companies fell from double digits to low single digits. Although many...

BY Catherine Lightfoot, CPA, CHBC, Director of Healthcare, EEPB Why it might be worth owning rather than leasing in this economic climate Delivering care is the primary and extremely demanding business of any healthcare provider.  So, why would you even consider owning your own real estate? Isn’t it just easier to lease? Well, like any debate, there are pros and cons to either side of the argument. This article attempts to answer the question of...