Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
Quality Organizations Have Their Own Quality Problems
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Who watches the watchers? That's what Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wants to know.
The influential chairman of the Senate Finance Committee has written a blistering letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services asking for more oversight of the Quality Improvement Organizations. The QIOs are supposed to be helping you to improve your quality--but instead they've been helping themselves.
Grassley's investigation of QIOs found excessive compensation for board members, questionable travel to "retreats" and potential conflicts of interest with providers. But even worse, Grassley cites recent articles saying the QIOs aren't all that effective at improving quality.
CMS should change how it pays QIOs to reward quality, and should introduce more competition into the QIO contracting process, says Grassley.
Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
- AUDITS:
Now Medicare 'Bounty Hunters' Will Receive Payment For Rescuing Yours
P4P train 'has left the station,' CMS says
If you thought you were safe from the [...] - GYNECOLOGIC ONCOLOGY:
Resubmit Denied Demonstration Claims To Gain Extra Payment
CMS backtracks on oncology demonstration project
Good news: Gynecologic oncologists will be able take part in [...] - EVALUATION & MANAGEMENT:
Make Your Phone A 'Hot Line' For E/M Reimbursement
Carrier says physicians' phone time can bump up E/M levels
Does your physician spend precious minutes [...] - Quality Organizations Have Their Own Quality Problems
Who watches the watchers? That's what Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) wants to know.
The influential chairman [...] - STUDIES & SURVEYS:
Massive Decreases In Drug Payments May Be Coming Your Way
Medicare overpaid $110 million for Part B drugs in 2005, says OIG
It may be hard [...] - NPI Applications Made Simple
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently posted new information to help providers understand, [...] - COMPLIANCE:
Don't Play The Percentages With Overdue Copays And Deductibles
Watch out for state, federal laws on charging patients interest and surcharges
Patients who drag their [...] - UROLOGY:
Reader Question--Turn To 2 Codes For Repeat TURPs
Question: Our urologist recently saw a patient who had a prostatic fossa with regrown prostatic [...] - AUDIOLOGY:
Reap Auditory Rehab Code Benefits
Find out how you can receive an extra $22
A few months have passed and you [...] - PODIATRY:
Keep Your Gait Analysis Claims Steady
Helpful hint: Double-check your Medicare carrier's coverage guidelines for each.
If you report 97166, 97799 or [...] - RADIOLOGY:
Don't Let Multiple Radiation Treatments Trip You Up
Experts warn: Make sure documentation proves medical necessity
Certain types of cancer require two or more [...] - NEUROLOGY:
Don't Be Unnerved By Unbundled Claims
If you perform tests on the same nerve, report the more extensive code
When your neurologist [...] - ORTHOPEDIC:
See Your Way Through CMC Anthroplasty Transplant Coding
If you only use 25447, expect to lose big bucks
When deciding [...] - Part B Coding Coach:
Don't Let Suture Removal Coding Get You In a Stitch
See why using a 52 modifier on 15850 and 15851 is not a valid option
Reporting [...] - PHYSICIAN NOTES:
Emergency Room Physicians Can Charge Patients A 'Reasonable' Fee
Court rules that 'balance billing' isn't illegal in the ER
It's not illegal for emergency [...] - ORTHOPEDIC:
See Your Way Through CMC Anthroplasty Transplant Coding
If you only use 25447, expect to lose big bucks
When deciding which codes to report [...] - PHYSICAL MEDICINE:
Reader Question--Learn The ABCs of ADL Coding
Question: We have documentation for three patients, all knee amputees, who were recently fitted with [...]