Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
PROGRAM MEMO ROUNDUP
The 2004 update to the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System will reach Medicare contractors Oct. 15, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says in a Sept. 12 program memorandum (AB-03-140; http://cms.hhs.gov/manuals/pm_trans/AB03140.pdf). CMS points out that the American Medical Association has established some new category II codes (ending with the letter "F") that will be used to track performance measurement. In other recent program memoranda, CMS: Heads up: CMS will soon be phasing out program memoranda (see story, "GET READY FOR A NEW WAY TO LEARN ABOUT MEDICARE CHANGES"). Program updates will be released, among other ways, via "one time notifications." This week's notifications include an explanation of payment policies for tositumomab and Iodine I-131 (Trans. 1; http://cms.hhs.gov/manuals/pm_trans/R1OTSN.pdf) and an outline of payment allowances for the influenza vaccine (Trans. 3; http://cms.hhs.gov/manuals/pm_trans/R3OTN .pdf).
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- DME:
IR Review A Certainty For Operation Wheeler Dealer
Power wheelchair use should be on the rise, disability advocates say. The double threat of [...] - Medicare Reform:
CONFEREES GET NEW DEADLINE, BUSH PEP TALK
Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have set a new deadline of Oct. 17 for congressional [...] - Long-Term Care:
LTC Providers Push Feds For Reimbursement Changes
Long-term care providers should keep their three-hole punch handy. The buzz from the recent annual [...] - Home Health:
HHA Outcomes Debut On The Web This Month
The home health quality initiative will be hitting the Web and local newspapers in late [...] - Long-Term Care:
NURSING HOMES CAN FREE UP CNA TIME WITH FEEDING ASSISTANTS
New regulations permit long-term care facilities to hire paid feeding assistants. Nursing homes struggling with [...] - HIPAA:
PRIVACY COMPLAINTS STREAM INTO OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
The straight dope on the first five months of HIPAA enforcement. Your patients are showing [...] - Regulations:
GET READY FOR A NEW WAY TO LEARN ABOUT MEDICARE CHANGES
CMS' Medicare manuals get a makeover - and they'll soon be online - only. Provider-specific [...] - Medicare+Choice:
Relatively Few Affected By Medicare+Choice Withdrawals
Sixteen health plans are withdrawing from Medicare+Choice or reducing their service area, leaving 41,000 people [...] - PROGRAM MEMO ROUNDUP
The 2004 update to the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System will reach Medicare contractors Oct. [...] - BILL WATCH
Bills introduced in the House: H.R. 3189. A bill to amend title XVIII of the [...]
