Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
Hello QIO? Providers Can Profit From A Call
'8th Scope Of Work' now underway. Pain Management Quality Improvement Possible Some QIOs also offer nursing-home partners the chance to focus quality improvement work on pain management. In addition, the QIOs are looking for nursing facilities interested in applying principles of culture change - or resident-directed care - as a means to improve nursing home services, notes Cherry Meier of VITAS Healthcare Corp. in Austin, TX.
Providers that are looking for a way to edge ahead of the long-term care competition should consider calling their state's quality improvement organization this month.
Aug. 1 marked the starting date for the so-called "8th Scope of Work" between the QIOs and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, notes Pauline Kinney, a spokesperson for IPRO, a QIO with headquarters in Lake Success, NY.
Although QIOs will continue to work with nursing homes and other health care providers much as they did under earlier contracts with CMS, the new two-year phase brings new opportunities.
Hot spots: The quality organizations are working now to recruit new nursing homes interested in improving the quality of care they offer in the areas of
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- MEDICARE ADVANTAGE:
A Dream Deferred- Regional PPO Plans Face Obstacles
Many won't be able to comply until 2007.
Health plan providers see great possibilities in the [...] - HOSPITALS:
Ambulance Services Added To Billing Duties
Independent contractors will look to facility for reimbursement.
When an ambulance transports an inpatient between his [...] - PHYSICIANS:
CMS Pushes Self-Referral Ban For PET Scans
Nuclear medicine also on chopping block.
Physicians could have a much harder time performing PET scans [...] - PHYSICIANS:
Medicare Offering Exemption Waivers
Burden on provider to prove patient hardship.
A new proposal might play a big role in [...] - PHYSICIANS:
Brakes Applied To Drug Bidding Program
Drugs may be available through vendors by July 2006.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [...] - REHAB:
Live Appeals Hearings Headed Toward Extinction
Expert fret over rule change that may damage appeal chances.
Under the new appeals system, adjudicators [...] - REHAB:
Rule Reduces IRF Outlier Thresholds
...but it will also cut standard payments.
Good news for inpatient rehab facilities: The Centers for [...] - LONG-TERM CARE:
Providers Get Ready: New Pay System Starting Soon
Feds show no signs of slowing new PPS implementation.
Long-term care providers should not let early [...] - LONG-TERM CARE:
Hello QIO? Providers Can Profit From A Call
'8th Scope Of Work' now underway.
Providers that are looking for a way to edge ahead [...] - ENFORCEMENT WATCH:
Bad Consultants Are The Clinic's Problem, Too
Physical therapy clinics come under fire for Medicare and Medicaid fraud.
Physical therapy providers should only [...] - PHARMACEUTICALS:
Ad Rules: Drug Makers Doing It For Themselves
Critics question appropriateness of PhRMA making DTC ad guidelines.
The trade association that represents most of [...] - BILL WATCH
The following bills were introduced in the House: H.R. 3423. A bill to amend the [...]
