Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
Providers Must Stay Posted On MSP Changes
The last thing a lab needs is to be singled out by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for sloppy Medicare secondary payer (MSP) collection practices.
The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) changed the rules for what labs must collect, but the new guidance doesn't affect face-to-face encounters, such as when a client shows up for her thyroid screen.
Before a lab launches into a service, it must determine whether the patient has an insurance option outside of Medicare, says Lisa Lounsbury, a data analyst with the Vascular Diagnostics Laboratory at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, VT.
Best bet: Use a questionnaire to cover all potential payment bases, suggests Lena Robins, senior counsel with Foley & Lardner in Washington, DC. Labs can either create their own forms or use the one CMS provides. Labs should keep these questions in mind when creating custom MSP forms:
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
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Providers Must Stay Posted On MSP Changes
Modifications could severely affect secondary payer rules.
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