Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
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When it comes to looming Medicare pay cuts, the government sure likes taking things down to the wire. Part B practices are facing a 27 percent cut to Medicare rates effective Jan. 1 unless Congress steps in and reverses that cut, which it has done in prior years. However, the recent failure of the country's deficit committee means that the government has not yet instituted any solutions to the issue. "The AMA is deeply concerned that continued instability in the Medicare program, including the looming 27 percent cut scheduled for January 1, will force many physicians to limit the number of Medicare and TRICARE patients they can care for in their practices," said AMA president Peter W. Carmel, MD, in a Nov. 21 statement. "Congress has ignored the reality that short-term patches have grown the problem immensely. The cost of repealing the formula has grown 525 percent in the past five years and will double again in the next five years." Keep an eye on the Insider as we move closer to the Jan. 1 deadline and determine whether cuts will go into effect as planned, or whether Congress will stave them off for another year.
Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
- Compliance:
CMS Identifies Most Egregious Errors in New Compliance Report
Compilation of RAC findings, ZPIC audits, and MAC errors shows you which Part B mistakes [...] - ICD-10:
CMS Is Converting Coverage Decisions to Include ICD-10 Codes
Plus: Medicaid contractors are working to meet ICD-10 deadline.As we reported in the last issue [...] - Compliance:
Tis The Season For Giving " If You Stay Within the OIG's Guidelines
Keep government guidance in mind when deciding on your holiday gift list.Under the face-to-face requirement [...] - Just Say No to Giving Most Gifts to Patients
It may be better to give than to receive, but keep costs low.You'd love to [...] - Part B Coding Coach:
57283: Avoid This Code With Other Procedures Involving Enterocele Repair, CPT® Warns
Practices that perform urology procedures should pay close attention to these CPT® 2012 changes.Every year [...] - Q2043:
New HCPCS Code Will Bring You $32,000 x 3 -- If You Bill It Properly
Include proper primary and secondary diagnosis codes to ensure payment. If your urologist performs a [...] - Physician Note:
CMS to Cover Obesity Screening and Counseling
Plus: You're still looking at a 27 percent potential Medicare pay cut on Jan. 1.This [...] - In other news
When it comes to looming Medicare pay cuts, the government sure likes taking things down [...] - Reader Question:
Scrutinize Documentation for G0389 Crosswalk
Question: We use G0389 for AAA screening of Medicare patients. What is the corresponding CPT® [...] - Reader Question:
Modifier 50 Doesn't Always Apply
Question: When our physicians administer Botox for chronic migraines, we bill the HCPCS J code [...] - Reader Question:
Check With Individual Payers' Incident-to Guidelines
Question: Can we bill under the physician even if she's not in the office when [...]