Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
CMS Announces VAD Coverage
Medicare will cover ventricular assist devices (VADs) as a destination therapy, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced.
Now, CMS only covers VADs as a bridge to heart transplant or as support for blood circulation after open-heart surgery. The new policy will cover the mechanical pumps as permanent cardiac support for certain Medicare beneficiaries.
Medicare will cover the devices for patients with end-stage heart failure who aren't candidates for heart transplantation and who meet the inclusion criteria in the "Randomized Evaluation of Mechanical Assistance for the Treatment of Congestive Heart Failure" trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
Medicare will also increase its per-procedure payments to increase access to VADs.
Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
- Coding:
AMA Recommends Changes to E/M Code Descriptors
Association plans 11 questionnaires for specialties
The American Medical Association has made [...] - Inpatient Coding:
6 Common Mistakes With Same-Day Observation Admits and Discharges
Are you misusing 99234-99236? Find out here
Most coders understand the basics of handling patients who [...] - Points System's Days May Be Numbered
The "points system" for determining evaluation and management may be on its way out, coding [...] - Inpatient Shared Visits:
Policy Flip-Flop Leaves Physicians Confused
Shared-visits rule has important differences to incident-to
It's been a year since [...] - CMS Announces VAD Coverage
Medicare will cover ventricular assist devices (VADs) as a destination therapy, the Centers for Medicare [...] - How to Benchmark Your A/R
Some rules of thumb for knowing when your A/R are out of hand
- Avoid These A/R Pitfalls
Understand what your A/R really means So you've gathered together all your payables, and you're [...] - Fraud and Abuse:
Watchdog Barks Out Dirty-Dozen List of Coding Errors
If you're concerned about avoiding the most heinous coding problems, the HHS Office of Inspector [...] - Physician Notes:
OIG Gives Clean Bill of Health to Physician Claims
The HHS Office of Inspector General may have an ambitious agenda for overlooking physician claims [...]
