Part B News | Part B News

5 tips to improve non-clinical staff retention without spending much money

08/10/2015

Can’t afford big raises to keep staff? Try low-cost changes first.

Predicting ICD-10: 5 forecasts about the Oct. 1 ICD-10 launch and how to prepare

08/10/2015

Brace yourself for lost productivity and cash-flow issues, as some of your biggest fears related to the ICD-10 transition are expected to come true — to some degree at least. But don’t despair — you control much of your fate.

Use your resource reports to prep for PQRS 2016, beat the value-based cut

08/10/2015

by: Julia Kyles, CPC-A

Focus on the highlights section of the quality-of-care report card CMS creates for your practice to prepare for the value-based modifier (VM) calculation. Using this information now will increase the chance your practice will receive an upward payment adjustment.

Top incorrect units-of-service drugs had low denials through OIG investigation

08/10/2015

by: Roy Edroso

The five drugs that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) says were most frequently overpaid because of incorrect units of service had single-digit denial rates throughout OIG’s 2009 to 2012 investigation period and beyond, according to a Part B News analysis. And with one exception, they didn’t change much.

New CMS ICD-10 Q&A defines code family, emphasizes requirements for valid codes

08/03/2015

by: Roy Edroso, Laura Evans, CPC, and Julia Kyles, CPC-A

Practices should be prepared to give ICD-10 coding their best shot, including reporting the codes to their full specificity, based on the latest guidance from CMS.

Hospice patients in wide-ranging CMS demo will retain Part B benefits

08/03/2015

by: Burt Schorr and Scott Kraft

Billing for services provided to hospice patients may become easier for physicians under a just-announced demonstration project in which an estimated 150,000 patients will be allowed to retain access to curative treatment for their terminal illnesses while receiving hospice coverage.

Coming to PECOS: New, easier revalidation process, other changes

08/03/2015

by: Roy Edroso

Check out these updates from CMS’ PECOS Power User Focus Group meeting July 17, as provided by enrollment expert David Zetter:

Follow these steps to see the full list of your Medicare LCDs by state

08/03/2015

by: Laura Evans

Medicare administrative contractors’ local coverage determinations (LCDs) with ICD-10 codes are available for you to review on the CMS coverage database website.

Become a medical home to gain payment enhancement, path to value-based care

08/03/2015

by: Richard Scott

Make an investment to instill the process and structure of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) in your practice and you’ll boost your chances of receiving an enhanced payment from state and private payers.

Case No. 2: The case of the overwhelmed, undermanaged billing staff

08/03/2015

by: Maureen McCarthy

With the deductible season occurring at the beginning of the year and the fact that many of the practice’s patients had high-deductible health plans (HDHP), the patient A/R had soared to three times the level it had been at the time the staff changes had been made. We took steps to address those issues — and the billing team brought its total A/R balance down from 36 days of charges to 28 days

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