Part B News | Benchmark of the Week

By the numbers: Proposed ICD-10 codes add specificity to pathological fractures, CKD

06/01/2020

Nearly 500 codes — including the two new U codes for COVID-19 and vaping-related disorders — are proposed to be added to the ICD-10 code set under the FY2021 Hospital Inpatient PPS (IPPS) proposed rule, released May 11.

Practices see 48% jump in ‘Welcome to Medicare’ payments over 5-year stretch

05/18/2020

by: Richard Scott

The trends behind the initial preventive physical exam (IPPE), commonly referred to as the “Welcome to Medicare” visit, underscore a boon to medical practices in recent years, with more dollars pouring in and fewer denials striking down claims.

COVID-hit providers increased patient messaging 37-fold in early crisis response

05/11/2020

by: Roy Edroso

A major patient communication vendor’s records show a massive spike in provider-to-patient interactions during the early days of America’s COVID-19 shutdown — an indicator of the importance of appropriate patient messaging in handling the COVID crisis.

89% of practices report steep decline in patient volume: Survey

05/04/2020

by: Richard Scott

The financial fallout of the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) continues to plague frontline medical practices, with nearly nine out of 10 groups reporting “large decreases” in patient volumes.

Enrollment growth slows, but ‘Welcome to Medicare’ rises steadily

04/27/2020

by: Roy Edroso

Though the rate of Medicare enrollment growth has slowed, the Initial Preventive Physical Examination (IPPE) meant to welcome patients to the program continues to grow steadily.

Telehealth possesses staying power beyond COVID-19 crisis: Surveys

04/20/2020

by: Jim Dresbach

A survey gathering feedback from more than 700 Americans concluded that consumer demand for telehealth services will continue following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prolonged codes are on the rise – and in some cases so are denials

04/13/2020

by: Roy Edroso

Use of prolonged service codes went up between 2017 and 2018 and — since CMS is increasingly making use of them, especially for telehealth — it promises to go up more. But watch out for some denial traps.

Surveys reveal escalating PPE crisis: 90% report critical shortage of supplies

04/06/2020

by: Jim Dresbach

Nearly nine out of 10 medical facilities are experiencing personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Old telehealth codes hanging in and even growing — though denials remain high

03/30/2020

by: Roy Edroso

In its quest to provide more remote services, CMS has come up with some new online codes in the past year but still pays for several older codes specifically geared to teleheath. These older codes don’t get much use, but their utilization is growing Ñ steadily and at a faster rate than their denials.

Public health labs pick up the pace on coronavirus testing as pandemic grows

03/23/2020

by: Richard Scott

On March 17, public health statistics confirmed what has appeared inevitable since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out earlier this year: The U.S. has confirmed coronavirus cases in all 50 states.

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