CMS is in the middle of a five-year campaign to check that all providers and facilities billing Medicare are properly enrolled to do so and, following a brief lull, the process is spinning back up. In July, CMS fired off 15,825 revalidation letters (sent in bright yellow envelopes to get your attention) nationwide. The number has varied from roughly 50,000 a month last fall and winter to only 8,000 a month in April and May of this year.

We’ve been ringing the alarm on cloned EHR (electronic health record) visit notes for the past year, but if you’re looking for more proof that these vendor shortcomings can lead to denied claims, then perhaps the warning below from a Medicare administrative contractor (MAC) will suffice.

You’ll find 251 revised and 151 new Category I codes in your CPT 2013 manual. You’ll also see that 100 codes have been deleted. But don’t let the large number of revisions alarm you. In many instances CPT simply adds “qualified health care professionals” to a code’s descriptor. These revisions are most evident in the E/M section of the manual.

Good news on the Medicare enrollment front: An Aug. 27 Part B News article informing you that supporting documents can be uploaded on PECOS online, but drivers’ licenses and Social Security cards still need to be mailed in separately, is no longer accurate.

It’s currently a violation of CMS policy for non-physician staff to use a physician’s username and password to update the physician’s information in the Provider Enrollment Chain Ownership System (PECOS). But it’s widely believed to be happening, and CMS is set to change its policy as soon as next month to make it okay to do so.