Part B News
Look out for letter about DME-linked fingerprint requirement coming from MACs
05/25/2015
by: Laura Evans

If your practice is enrolled as a supplier of durable medical equipment (DME), watch out for letters from your Medicare administrative contractor (MAC) requiring your providers to receive fingerprint-based background checks.

House bills against ICD-10’s Oct. 1 implementation have little chance to pass
05/25/2015
by: Josh Poltilove

A new House bill seeks an 18-month safe harbor period after the Oct. 1 ICD-10 transition deadline during which claims won’t be denied “due solely to the use of an unspecified or inaccurate subcode.” 

Cardio codes lead the way in facility vs. non-facility reimbursement rates
05/25/2015
by: Richard Scott

You’ll see up to a $14,000 difference in your reimbursement rate for some surgical procedures depending on whether you performed the service in a non-facility setting such as your office as opposed to a hospital, ambulatory surgical center (ASC) or other facility setting.

Correction
05/25/2015
by: Roy Edroso

In “Check reporting preferences, provider mix before registering for GPRO by June 30” (PBN 5/18/15), Part B News misinterpreted and erroneously reported the relationship between group practice reporting option (GPRO) and a group’s specialty mix. GPRO is in fact recommended for groups with different specialties, even when the nine measures the group reports may not be applicable for all of its providers.

 
Check reporting preferences, provider mix before registering for GPRO by June 30
05/18/2015
by: Roy Edroso
Check before the June 30 deadline to see whether your group practice is a good candidate to report Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) measures through the group practice reporting option (GPRO) — certain situations, including specialty mix and provider morale, may mean GPRO isn’t for you.
New ONC HIPAA privacy, security guide offers real, if limited, help
05/18/2015
by: Roy Edroso
A new edition of an ONC guide can help you with your basic electronic protected health information (ePHI) HIPAA work — particularly if you’re new to or struggling with compliance.
Proposed EEOC rule explains how to run wellness program without violating ADA
05/18/2015
by: Joshua Poltilove and Richard Scott
Make sure your employee wellness program doesn’t offer incentives exceeding 30% of the total cost of employee-only insurance coverage. Otherwise your practice could essentially be making it a requirement to participate and wind up facing a costly lawsuit.
Include BMI in your reporting list for a PQRS measure that’s one and done
05/18/2015
by: Julia Kyles
Practices that are trying to make sure each provider reports the required number and type of quality measures should look to one of the easier measures to report: the body mass index (BMI) measure. But practices that have used this measure should review its guidelines for a few tweaks that could hinder this year’s reporting effort.
 
BMI screening & follow-up plan checklist
05/18/2015
by: Julia Kyles
Use this BMI screening and follow-up checklist to undertand the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) measure specifications.
Use recent HHS active shooter guidance to protect practice, patients
05/18/2015
by: Roy Edroso
HHS’ guidance on preparing your practice for an “active shooter” situation is worth following, for legal protection as well as your patients’ and employees.
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