Home Health & Hospice Week

Start your internal testing ASAP, CMS Says. When testing whether you'll be able to appropriately process the new HIPAA 5010 form standards, 25 is the magic number -- that's how many claims you'll want to process to ensure that your system has the new form down. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has introduced its HIPAA 5010 Version D.0 form requirements, which all HIPAA-covered entities must use as of Jan. 1, 2012. CMS will begin accepting 5010 forms effective Jan. 1, 2011, and you'll have to start using the 5010-compliant form by Jan. 1, 2012 at the latest. CMS urges "direct submitters" to contact their Medicare contractor help desk to coordinate testing procedures. "Test with 25 claims minimum," said Matt Klischer of CMS's Division of Medicare Billing Procedures during a June 30 CMS Open Door Forum regarding the HIPAA 5010 form. During testing, contractors will use a uniform testing procedure, [...]