Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
You Could Soon Face a Turbo-Charged OIG
With new Medicare legislation stepping up the number of providers and contractors - and potential fraud - where is the matching increase for the HHS Office of Inspector General?
That's just what Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) wants to know in a Feb. 6 letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson. In a showing of "strong support" for similar requests from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Stark nixed the present budget, which contained no increase in money for fraud and abuse enforcement and decreased the staff for the agency.
The money should come from the $1 billion set aside for implementation of the new Medicare law, the letter says. More money should also be allocated to state health insurance assistance programs in order to adequately educate beneficiaries on the new Medicare legislation.
Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
- Catheterizations:
Radiologists, Cardiologists Fight Catheter Bundling Edits
CMS insists 36140/31620 'not supported' for selective catheterization
A National Correct Coding [...] - Diagnostic Tests:
Your Equipment, Their Payment - How to Get Paid for Tests in SNFs
SNFs stiff physicians on technical-component reimbursement
Frustrated by skilled nursing facility payments for tests? You're not [...] - SNF Bundling Guidance Online
A good run-down of what services are covered separately in SNFs appears on Part B [...] - Skull Base Surgery:
Can You Code for Two Approaches in One Surgery?
Find out what the other surgeon billed before you start coding
Billing [...] - Drug Cards on the Way
Starting in early May, beneficiaries can begin enrolling in a Medicare-endorsed drug discount card program [...] - Teaching Physicians:
A Year Later, Coders Still Nervous About Documentation Rules
Documentation requirements changed, but performance requirements still strict
It's been more than a year since the [...] - You Could Soon Face a Turbo-Charged OIG
With new Medicare legislation stepping up the number of providers and contractors - and potential fraud - [...] - Low Osmolar Contrast:
Yet Another Coding Flip-Flop Leads to Reinstatement
It makes you wonder how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will cope once [...] - Use the Right Diagnosis to Justify Frequent Lipid Testing
A national coverage determination from CMS (40-12) said in January that Medicare would normally cover [...] - Part B Coding Coach:
4 Questions to Ask Yourself About Modifier -25
If you want to recoup reimbursement for your modifier -25 claims, make sure that you [...] - Physician Notes:
Denials Due to Invalid Modifiers Are Number One With a Bullet
Carrier lists top-seven denial reasons for first quarter 2004
Part B carrier Blue Cross/Blue Shield of [...]
