Tag Archives: MPFS
21 Percent Pay Cut Kicked in April 1 — But MACs Are Holding Claims
Posted on 12. Apr, 2010 by Editor.
No legislative wrangling can take place until April 12.
Unless Congress steps in soon, you could be facing the 21.2 percent Medicare pay cut that you’ve feared since January.
Despite several Congressional attempts to cobble together another temporary pay fix to prevent cuts to your Medicare pay, no votes solidified these efforts. Lawmakers went on recess on March 29, leaving practices to face the 21.2 percent pay cut effective April 1.
Claims hold: Congress returns on April 12, and your MACs will wait until after that before they begin processing claims, in hopes that lawmakers will pass another extension to the pay freeze.
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93000-93010: Hone Your ECG Coding Skills With 3 Essential Pointers
Posted on 28. Mar, 2010 by Editor.
Grasping 93010’s effect on new vs. established patient status could bring a $58 reward.
Whether you call them ECGs or EKGs, chances are you see a lot of electrocardiograms in your practice. That means that even the tiniest coding errors can add up quickly. Brush up on the 93000-93010 basics with this review of the service, the code components, and the role ECGs can play in choosing the proper E/M code.
1. Count on These Codes for Proper ECG Reporting
There are three codes for routine ECG:
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News from the Feds: Last-Minute MPFS Change & Proposed HITECH Rule
Posted on 05. Jan, 2010 by Editor.
We’ve got the links you need to keep up with these bottom-line changers from HHS, CMS.
While most of us were celebrating the last few days the Old Year and preparing to welcome the New Year, the federal regulators had one last, little rulemaking frenzy for 2009. The result is a 555-page proposed rule implementing the HITECH portion of the ‘ARRA’ stimulus bill, as well as a last-minute change to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
Why you should care about the proposed HITECH rule: Remember ARRA, that economic stimulus bill Congress passed last February? In the mammoth bill is the HITECH Act, which mandates a $44,000-per-physician incentive for practices that adopt electronic medical records early. To obtain the incentive, practices must meet certain criteria, which the feds have outlined in this 555-page proposed rule published December 30th.
Not exactly light reading, so if you want a quick fact sheet, go here and stayed tuned to Coding News for alerts to the important stuff you need to know. Example: We’ll let you know the minute we figure out exactly what the feds mean by “meaningful use.”
The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed rule before federal regulators go back to the drawing board to finalize it.
The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule News: CMS made some last minute changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Database for 2010. ”Over the Christmas holiday, Congress froze the conversion factor at the 2009 rate ($36.0666) until Feb. 28,” explains Part B Insider sage Torrey Kim. “As of March 1, it will supposedly go down to the proposed 2010 rate, but I’m sure there will be another vote blocking it by then.” You can read all…
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Coder’s Navigation Tool: 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
Posted on 08. Nov, 2009 by Editor.
It’s that time of year coders — yes, time to comb through pages and pages and pages of the final 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. We’ve got a handy place to start.
If you want a quick overview of fee schedule’s financial impact on your physician practice’s specialty, go here and scroll to page 1171. There, you’ll find ‘Table 49,’ which outlines a plus or minus percentage impact on ‘Work RVU Changes’ for 55 specialties and settings.
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Proposed 2010 MPFS: $26 More for ‘Welcome to Medicare’ Exam
Posted on 22. Jul, 2009 by Editor.
CMS welcomed health care providers to an July 9 open door forum on the proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. One of most welcome pieces of news?
Your practice’s ‘Welcome to Medicare’ exam services will net you an extra $26 next year, if the proposed 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule takes effect in January.
AUDIO: Are you getting denials because of Medicare’s new enrollment rules? Linda Martien can help.
Although CMS proposed a conversion factor for 2010 of $28.3208, which results in a -21.5 percent payment update, not all reimbursements would be negatively affected. When it comes to the initial preventive physical exam (IPPE), CMS has proposed increasing the work RVUs “to the same level as a 99204, which requires a comprehensive history and examination, and moderate complexity medical decision-making,” noted CMS’s Whitney May during the forum. “In 2009, the payment for this service is about $92.69; for 2010 the payment for this service is projected to be about $118.95, assuming an update of -21.5 percent,” May said.
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Stop Wasting Time Searching for Supervision Definitions
Posted on 27. Jan, 2009 by Editor.
Quick quiz: Is level 1 general or direct supervision?
You can finally crack the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule code — and know when you can report certain services — by keeping this list of physician supervision levels close by.
The lowdown: The MPFS notes supervision levels in number format (such as 1, 2 and so on). You can find supervision level explanations in the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, Chapter 15, Section 80.
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Physician Supervision/Diagnostic Indicator (Phys Supv)
0 — Procedure is not a diagnostic test, or procedure is a diagnostic test which is not subject to the physician supervision policy.
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