You should lose the habit of using unspecified codes while getting your doctors into the habit of writing more detailed documentation to prepare for the switch to the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code set, experts tell Part B News.

You don't have to worry about making sure the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) has followed the notification rules we told you about last week if it's medically necessary for a patient to have a surgery on the same day a procedure is scheduled.

CMS is skipping its mid-year Comprehensive Error Rate Test (CERT) report as it reconsiders methodology used to compile improper payment rates.

CMS is implementing new ways to tell you that services you've billed to Medicare should instead be paid by Workers' Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Arrangements (WCMSAs). A WCMSA is an allocation of funds from a workers' compensation injury settlement or award to be used to pay for a patient's future medical expenses.

Correction: An article on possible Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) targets in the May 11 issue of Part B News incorrectly stated the payment reduction formula that Medicare applies to multiple surgeries done in the same surgical session.

Health care industry leaders, including the AMA, pledged to support President Obama's goal of cutting $2 trillion in spending over 10 years.

This week's question is answered by Sean Weiss CPC, president of DecisionHealth Professional Services.

Q.   My doctor did a discography procedure with fluoroscopy. The discography was billed with code 62290 (4 levels). I need to know which code I use for the fluoroscopy and if it is billed for each level. 

Starting May 18, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) must provide patients advance notice and information on their rights and any physician financial interest in the ASC before the date of a surgery. This means physicians rendering services at ASCs cannot perform procedures on the same day unless a patient previously received the required information.

Download this month's tool of the month from DecisionHealth Professional Services - an E/M Code Card - from Part B News' NEW Web site, www.partbnews.com.

You won't get paid by Medicare for computed tomography (CT) colonography screenings for colorectal cancer (CRC), CMS says in a coverage decision memo issued May 12.