Primary Care Coding Alert

PPACA waived fees starting Jan. 1, but CMS won't until April 4.If you code for a rural health clinic (RHC), be extra vigilant in assuring proper reimbursement for Medicare preventive services. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has identified a claims processing issue that affects rural health clinics (RHCs) submitting claims for preventive health care services on or after Jan. 1, 2011.Provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) waive the coinsurance and deductible for the initial preventive physical examination (IPPE), the Annual Wellness Visit (AWV), and other Medicare-covered preventive services recommended by the U. S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) with a grade of "A" or "B," effective Jan. 1, 2011. Medicare contractors, however, will not implement the systems changes necessary to correctly process claims for these RHC services until April 4, 2011.According to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) listserv and the [...]