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Ensure certification, installation of 2014 EHR technology or risk losing thousands

09/02/2013

You could lose up to $12,000 in meaningful use bonuses — despite your best efforts to meet the requirements of the electronic health records (EHR) incentive program — if your practice doesn’t have a 2014-certified edition of its software by Oct. 1 next year.

Avoid denied claims by using tools to verify patients’ insurance eligibility

09/02/2013

by: Karen Long

Check the insurance eligibility of your patients two to three days before their appointments to ensure proper billing and collections and to reduce the expense it takes your practice to fix delayed or denied claims.

9 tips for new ways to connect with your payers for better results

09/02/2013

by: Scott Kraft

Step outside the usual claims-driven back-and-forth with your payers and “manage up” to them to let them know when and how they can provide your practice with better responses and more consistent service, experts tell Part B News.

CMS: Health exchanges can help meet meaningful use when certified

09/02/2013

by: Scott Kraft

Transmitting data via the Affordable Care Act’s health information exchanges (HIEs) can help you meet meaningful use requirements for your electronic health record (EHR) system, CMS clarifies in a set of recently released frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the EHR incentive program. One catch: The HIE must be certified by CMS.

Lack of vendor readiness prompts requests to delay meaningful use stage 2

09/02/2013

by: Jennifer Clampet

Vendors failing to attain timely certification on stage 2 meaningful use for electronic health records (EHR) systems has spurred provider organizations to ask for reporting delays and penalty moratoriums for eligible physicians.

Benchmark: Check private payer payments to ensure proper fee schedule reimbursement

09/02/2013

by: Karen Long

Your practice staff isn’t done when they’ve verified a patient’s insurance eligibility. They have to keep track of the reimbursement to make sure it matches what a payer’s fee schedule says it should pay.

CPT 2014 preview: New codes, increased bundling for cardiology practices

08/26/2013

by: Jennifer Clampet

Expect to see at least 19 new cardiology procedure codes in CPT 2014, sources have confirmed to Part B News.

Incarcerated patients update: CMS tells providers to go ahead with appeals

08/26/2013

by: Roy Edroso

Don’t bother waiting to appeal a demand letter or request a payment adjustment on claims for allegedly “incarcerated” patients. Go right ahead, CMS says in newly released guidance. Just make sure you send your request for payment to the right authorities if your Medicare patient turns out to have been a ward of the state.

Avoid denials, low reimbursement with tips for correct allergy billing

08/26/2013

by: Karen Long

Bill the correct number of units when your practice mixes vials of antigens for allergen immunotherapy or you could risk denials or underbilling.

Close coder-biller communication is key to prevent repeat denials

08/26/2013

by: Jennifer Clampet

Move your billing and coding departments to the same floor to curtail repeated claim denials. An office’s ability to identify patterns of denials can depend on the flow of information between them, says Vicki Myckowiak, an attorney with Myckowiak Associates, P.C., in Detroit, who specializes in medical claim audits and appeals.

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