You’ll face less risk and fewer administrative hassles if you choose to participate in an accountable care organization (ACO), thanks to changes made in the final ACO rule, released today in the Federal Register. CMS took pains to review feedback from physician advocacy groups and believes the final rule takes many of their biggest concerns into account, top agency officials said during a conference call with reporters.

Primary care providers will get additional revenue opportunities soon thanks to new Medicare coverage determinations for alcohol misuse and depression, CMS announced in a press release Oct. 14. Medicare will cover screening for alcohol misuse and behavioral counseling for those found to be misusing alcohol. Depression screening will be covered for primary care practices that have “staff resources to follow up” with treatments and referrals, the agency said.

Get ready for an influx of new Medicare beneficiaries as the Medicare Open Enrollment Period starts. This year, the period begins earlier on Oct. 15 and will last seven weeks, through Dec. 7. A major new wrinkle this year are CMS-published star ratings for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. “This year CMS is highlighting plans that have achieved an overall quality rating of 5 stars with a high performer or ‘gold star’ icon so people with Medicare can easily find high quality plans,” the agency said in an Oct. 12 press release.

We report in the current issue of Part B News that you could get a revalidation notice from CMS this year, even for providers who already have recordsin the agency’s Provider Enrollment Chain Ownership System (PECOS).

Remember: CMS had previously said no providers with existing PECOS records would get revalidation notices until January 2012, when a big “wave” of notices would be sent out. The culprits are active provider transaction account numbers (PTANs), which cause the revalidations to be sent when they are on file with a Medicare contractor but not listed in a provider’s PECOS record, CMS has said. Now the agency has answered some questions about the PTAN and revalidation issue.

 You’ll have an easier time forking over your $505 Medicare enrollment fee thanks to CMS integrating its web-based Provider Enrollment Chain Ownership System (PECOS) into Pay.gov, the federal government’s national online payment portal. Remember:The $505 enrollment fee applies to institutional providers, suppliers of durable medical equipment/supplies and independent diagnostic testing facilities (IDTFs). Your physicians and non-physician practitioners must also pay the $505 if they provide DME, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies.