Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
TO PARTICIPATE OR NOT?
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It makes sense for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to do things to encourage providers to stay participating, consultant Quin Buechner says. It gives CMS "political talking points" to cite a high participation rate. But Buechner believes that physicians are starting to become more "feisty," in part because they've sharpened their self-defense skills in battles with managed-care plans.
"It'll be interesting to see how many people participate this year," Buechner says. If the participation rate drops a lot, it may signal "a significant rebellion on the part of the physicians to being jerked around by Medicare."
Whether physicians elect participation depends on the local attitudes, says Fred Wolfe, CPA, with Hayflich and Steinberg in Huntington, W.Va. "West Virginia has an aging population, and we don't think too much of people who alienate our senior citizens."
Part B Insider (Multispecialty) Coding Alert
- CODING:
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July 'Double Whammy' Could Hit Nonparticipating Hardest
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Coders Should Have Access to Member Areas
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Want to write your own codes? Build a big tent and invite everyone in. That's [...] - INDUSTRY NOTES:
Earn CMEs for Quality Improvement
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Family Practitioners, Oncologists Hit by Drug Cuts
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services unveiled a "dirty baker's dozen" of cuts to [...] - FRAUD & ABUSE:
Your Patients Are Watching You
If your explanation-of-benefits forms look suspicious to some of your patients, don't be surprised if [...] - TO PARTICIPATE OR NOT?
It makes sense for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to do things to [...]