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Flu season plus COVID-19 ‘twindemic’ could get rough; push shots early and hard

09/28/2020

COVID-19 complicates your flu season immunization picture, but experts say it may become an opening that not only gets more patients interested in having their shots, but also gets them to receive other needed care.

Next NCCI edit update will revive thousands of code pairs, reset MUEs

09/28/2020

by: Julia Kyles, CPC

Prepare your practice: CMS will roll back many of the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edits that it temporarily extended during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and add a few hundred more. But the latest quarterly update, effective Oct. 1, it doesn’t spell the end of all health emergency-related flexibilities.

E/M coding scenario: Work out new MDM rules for a 99214 encounter

09/28/2020

by: Richard Scott

For the first time in more than two decades, the E/M office visit code set (99202-99215) is subject to a coding and documentation overhaul. Starting Jan. 1, 2021, you’ll find that previously vital components of code level selection — namely, the history and exam components — no longer factor into your level of decision-making. Instead, determining a level of service will come down to one of two components: Medical decision-making (MDM) or time.

High-profile taskforce urges CMS to retain telehealth changes, add HIPAA enforcement

09/28/2020

by: Roy Edroso

In a show of unity by major telehealth advocates, a Taskforce on Telehealth Policy released a series of advocacy proposals Sept. 15 that call for the retention of the major telehealth flexibilities that providers have enjoyed since the start of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) in March.

New set of COVID-19 ICD-10-CM codes proposed for Jan. 1 launch

09/28/2020

by: Laura Evans, CPC

Practices may have at least five new COVID-related diagnosis codes to use starting in January 2021, according to updates announced Sept. 9. The new codes would be in addition to the ICD-10-CM code and guideline changes set to take effect Oct. 1 this year.

Flu vaccine code 90662 leads pack; watch specs on your codes to avoid denials

09/28/2020

by: Roy Edroso

Both utilization and denial rates fluctuate wildly among different flu vaccines paid for by Medicare, and the differences remain stark even among places of service.

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