Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
A NEW WAY TO LURE BENEFICIARIES INTO MEDICARE+CHOICE
M+COs get another benefit option. Health plans often have a hard time encouraging Medicare beneficiaries to enroll in their Medicare+Choice product lines - but a new regulation from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services could help make things just a little bit easier. Published in the Nov. 28 Federal Register, the reg permits M+C organizations to offer a reduction in the Part B premium as an additional benefit under their M+C plans. To reduce - or eliminate - an enrollee's Part B premium, the M+CO must accept a reduction of its monthly capitation payment. Eighty percent of the payment reduction can then be applied to reducing enrollee's Part B premiums. The premium reduction can't exceed the beneficiary's actual premium obligation, CMS specifies, and must be offered to all enrollees. The reg is intended "to make M+C more attractive to Medicare beneficiaries and increase enrollment in M+C plans," CMS says. To see the rule, go to www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a031128c.html. Lesson Learned: M+COs now have an additional benefit in their arsenal of selling points for Medicare beneficiaries.
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- Rehab:
PTs TOP CMS' LIST OF PROBLEM BILLERS
But are therapists taking the blame for other providers' mistakes? Physical therapists top the list [...] - Managed Care:
MEDICARE Rx BILL PUTS PBMs, HEALTH PLANS ON HOOK FOR COSTS
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Health plans are [...] - Home Care:
PRIVATE-PAY OASIS POLICIES MUST BE BASED ON THE WRITTEN WORD
CMS letter to surveyors fails to clear up confusion.
A new letter to state surveyors supposedly [...] - Home Care:
NEW SIGNATURE STANDARD HELPS HHAs GET DOC ORDERS QUICKLY
But it doesn't apply to CMNs.
As home health agencies ring in the new year, they [...] - Home Care:
5 TIPS FOR E-SIGNATURE SECURITY
Stamped signatures aren't the only alternative to speed orders.
Home care providers looking for quicker turnaround [...] - Medicaid:
MENTAL HEALTH GROUPS, ER DOCS RAISE ALARM ON MEDICAID CUTS
But more cuts likely to follow as states grapple with deficits.
Mentally ill patients already are [...] - Hospitals:
HOSPITALS CAN COLLECT MORE FOR QIO PHOTOCOPYING
After more than a decade, CMS ups hospitals' photocopying reimbursement.
Hospitals will be able to collect [...] - Hospitals:
WHY HOSPITAL-DOC ARRANGEMENTS CAN BE COMPLIANCE TIME-BOMBS
3 risk areas to watch for.
If hospitals and physicians don't carefully pore over their [...] - Exclusions:
TENET FORCED TO SELL REDDING MEDICAL CENTER
Hospital chain and OIG come to terms on potential Medicare ouster.
The HHS Office of Inspector [...] - Medicare+Choice:
A NEW WAY TO LURE BENEFICIARIES INTO MEDICARE+CHOICE
M+COs get another benefit option.
Health plans often have a hard time encouraging Medicare beneficiaries [...] - HIPAA:
TOP 9 HIPAA TRANSACTIONS RULE MISTAKES
Most Medicare claims aren't HIPAA compliant.
It's a good thing the Centers for Medicare & [...] - ANOTHER SHAKEUP AT HHS?
Thompson may step down next year.
If President Bush is re-elected next year, he'll have to [...]
