Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Plus: Last call for MIPS 2018 targeted review requests.

Hop on board the Medicare Beneficiary Initiative train before it’s too late. For the week ending Aug. 30, providers submitted 79 percent of fee-for-service claims with the MBI, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) says in a message to providers.

“Beginning 1/1/2020, you must submit claims using MBIs (with a few exceptions), no matter what date the services were performed,” stresses Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) National Government Services in a message to providers.

And even without Social Security Numbers on them, remember “to guard your Medicare card like a credit card, check Medicare claims summary forms for errors, and be wary of unsolicited requests for your Medicare number,” CMS tells beneficiaries in a new release.

“Health care scammers will go to great lengths to steal from Medicare beneficiaries. That’s why guarding your Medicare card and personal information is essential,” CMS administrator Seema Verma says in the release. “You can protect yourself by knowing what to look for. Remember, if a caller says they’re from Medicare and asks for your Medicare number or other personal information — hang up. It’s probably a scam.”

In other news…

If you think your 2018 Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) results aren’t right, there’s still time to request a targeted review of your final score and 2020 payment adjustments. But hurry, because time is running out.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will accept targeted review requests until 8 pm EST on Sept. 30, reminds MLN Connects.

Eligibile clinicians, practices, and virtual groups can view their 2018 MIPS submissions on the Quality Payment Program (QPP) website through the HCQIS Access Roles and Profile (HARP) system with their MIPS credentials and dispute errors at  https://qpp.cms.gov/login.