Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

• Time is money in a medical practice, and a new study shows just how much money you put into trying to collect your rightful reimbursement. A report published in the May 14, 2009 edition of Health Affairs shows that clinicians spend more than 35 minutes each day performing billing and insurance-related functions, costing medical practices at least $85,276 per full-time physician -- or 10 percent of total revenue. For each physician working in a practice, 0.67 nonclinical full-time staff members worked on billing and insurance functions, the report indicated. To read the full analysis, visit http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/hlthaff.28.4.w544v1. • If you're looking for help on which discharge code you should use for hospice patients who die in the nursing home, you need to keep looking. One hospice asked carrier Cahaba GBA which discharge code to use for a patient who expires in a skilled nursing facility where they are residing: 40 (Expired [...]