Part B News | Editors' Blog

Submittingcompleteinformationforthe informal review request doesn't have to be a squeeze.

by: Julia Kyles, CPC Dec 5, 2016

You have until Dec. 7 to dispute physician quality reporting and value-based modifier pay cuts. As Part B News has reported, the requests should be detailed because this is a provider or practice's only chance to convince CMS to take a second look at its decision. However, a subscriber noted that there is a character limit for the narratives that can be submitted with the requests and asked if there were any work-arounds. As it turns out, there are.

CMS is backing into 2017's 99,000+ new edit pairs

by: Julia Kyles, CPC Dec 1, 2016

Usually CMS releases CCI edits and the medically unlikely edits (MUEs) about a month before they go into effect. A week or so later, CMS releases the files that list changes to the edit sets: additions, revisions and deletions to both edit sets. Not this time.

Procrastinators rejoice: CMS extends informal review request deadline

by: Julia Kyles, CPC Nov 30, 2016

Practices that meant to - but never got around to - filing an informal review request to dispute a physican quality reporting or value-based modifier pay cut still have time. CMS announced today that it will extend the informal review request deadlines to Dec. 7.

'It ain't me': OCR warns of phishing email masquerading as official OCR contact

by: Julia Kyles, CPC Nov 29, 2016

Employees at your organization may have received an email that appeared to be from the HHS Office for Civil Rights that invites them to click on a link for inclusion in the “HIPAA Privacy, and Breach Rules Audit Program.” However, there is no such thing (although it does sound a lot like the OCR's HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Audit Program) and the email isn’t from the OCR. It’s from a website that is marketing the services of a cybersecurity firm.

Trump tabs Obamacare foe Tom Price to lead HHS, Seema Verma to head CMS

by: Richard Scott Nov 29, 2016

The direction of major health care programs, from insurance exchanges to Medicaid expansion, may be a step closer to course reversal after President-elect Donald Trump tabbed new leaders for two key federal posts.

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