Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
CMS Corrects 2009 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule
Plus: One RAC reveals information about how it will evaluate claims during its review process. CMS released Transmittal 1691, with an April 6 implementation date, alerting MACs and practices of several changes that you should make to the 2009 fee schedule. Among the changes are procedure status and RVU changes. For instance, the transmittal notes that the work RVU for code G0270 (Medical nutrition therapy...) should now be 0.45 for 2009. The transmittal also changes several codes' long descriptors. For instance, you'll find a new descriptor for home INR monitoring codes G0248-G0250, which more specifically outline the criteria for billing these HCPCS Codes. CMS also changes the procedure status for code 0085T (Heartsbreath test) to "N" because the procedure is now considered a non-payable code by Medicare. To read the entire transmittal, visit the CMS Web site at www.cms.hhs.gov/transmittals/downloads/R1691CP.pdf.
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- COMPLIANCE:
Let The OIG Advisory Process Help Your Practice
Tip: Ask before you implement policies. You've most likely read one or two of the [...] - CORRECT CODING INITIATIVE:
CCI Institutes Over 300,000 New Code Pair Edits
This round, CCI also creates a few welcome deletions. If you thought CCI versions after [...] - BUNDLING:
3 Code Pairs You May Not Want To Report Together
Here's expert advice on reporting your code combinations correctly. The Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) offers [...] - OBSERVATION CODING:
Observation Stays Are on the Rise -- 4 Tips Help Code Them
Hint: Roll office visit, observation stay into one code. Physicians are admitting more patients than [...] - READER QUESTION:
Do You Know How to Report Hospital Discharge After Consultation?
Tip: Know which doc attended and which referred to ensure you report patient visits correctly [...] - PART B MYTHBUSTERS:
Just Because CCI Doesn't 'Bundle' Procedures Doesn't Mean You Can Always Bill Them Together
Even if CCI doesn't publish edits bundling two procedures together, your practice should know which [...] - CODING COACH:
Keep Scope Coding 'In The Family' To Avoid Errors
Are you missing out on hundreds? Now's the time to find out. Coding scope procedures, [...] - INDUSTRY NOTES:
CMS Corrects 2009 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule
Plus: One RAC reveals information about how it will evaluate claims during its review process. [...] - IN OTHER NEWS ...• Wondering how the new Recovery Audit Contractors plan to review -- and possibly deny -- your claims from afar?
Now you have part of the answer.The RAC for 17 states, Las Vegas-based HealthDataInsights Inc., [...]
