Your top long-term concern may be a permanent fix to the next Medicare physician pay cut set for 2012, but even a permanent fix will not be the answer to a payment system that needs fundamental change, according to some of the biggest movers and shakers in the health industry.

These charts show the top 10 specialties with the greatest utilization growth and the most utilization decline from 2008 to 2009. NOTE: The bars show percent utilization change and do not reflect total number of claims billed. NOTE: Specialties that billed fewer than 1 million claims annually were excluded from analysis.

While a slight majority of your peers have not seen denials when billing the annual wellness visit (AWV), one in five have not billed the service yet and another 30% have seen denials, according to an unscientific Part B News reader survey. At least four Medicare contractors have admitted to incorrectly denying the service and are now reprocessing affected claims automatically (see related story).

Can a physician office bill for an injection administration charge if patient brings in the drug (such as B-12 or risperdol or haldol)?

Starting in May, you and your office staff will be able to register providers for the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program and also attest that they met meaningful use criteria and are eligible for federal bonus money.

You might not get paid for properly billed claims for the new annual wellness visit (AWV) until mid-to- late March, according to at least one Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC). Remember: The first wave of AWVs billed in 2011 were incorrectly and automatically denied by at least three different MACs (PBN 1/24/11).

You are now required to provide additional documentation to home health agencies when ordering home health care for patients. A new CMS requirement greatly impacts the bottom line of your peers in home health, but requires additional work from you. The rules state a home health agency must have documentation of a face-to-face encounter between a patient and the patient’s physician or non-physician practitioner (NPP).