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In-office ancillary service changes could affect patients, practice finances

04/18/2013

Physician practices that offer therapy services, radiation therapy and advanced imaging could lose revenue and have to make operational changes if Congress votes to adopt a budget proposal to sharply limit physicians’ ability to bill those services in their offices.

Sequester’s reimbursement hit hurts more with low-margin drugs, services

04/18/2013

by: Roy Edroso

For some specialties, the across-the-board, 2% sequester cut to Medicare that became effective April 1 will be especially painful; experts advise you to prepare for the fallout.

Program integrity targets in HHS budget include enrollment, exclusions, PMDs

04/18/2013

by: Roy Edroso

While the HHS section of President Barack Obama’s budget proposed this month will probably undergo many changes over the coming months, experts tell us the program integrity section — dedicated to combating waste and fraud — gives clues that the department remains serious about squeezing money out of certain physician practice activities.

Save original meaningful use data — even if you switch EHRs — to prepare for audits

04/18/2013

by: Roy Edroso

Secure your $18,000 meaningful use bonus by keeping track of the electronic health records (EHR) documentation that you used when you attested. CMS auditors want to see it — and they prefer the originals.

Watch out for meaningful use pre-payment audits

04/18/2013

by: Roy Edroso

Simple checks, including making sure your enrollment is accurate in the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS), could help you past new CMS meaningful use edits. CMS added pre-payment edits for meaningful use attestation in January.

Indicator, descriptor changes highlight first-quarter fee schedule update

04/18/2013

by: Scott Kraft

Catheter placement codes 36222-36228 will see their bilateral indicators changed from 0 (bilateral indicator does not apply) to 1 (150% payment adjustment when billed with modifier 50), a change retroactive to Jan. 1, 2013, CMS announced in transmittal 2677 to the Medicare Claims Processing Manual.

PBN Salary Survey: Compliance officers saw near-guaranteed raises in 2012

04/18/2013

by: Lauren C. Williams

Part B News concludes its salary survey analysis with a look at compliance officers. The following analysis and graphs address pay trends for compliance or audit specialists and compliance managers.

Advance preview -- Indicator, descriptor changes highlight first quarter fee schedule update

04/15/2013

by: Scott Kraft

Practice manager title, ICD-10 prep earn higher pay, 2% raise in 2012

04/11/2013

by: Lauren C. Williams

Congratulations to the more than half of practice managers who got pay raises last year, according to the results of the 2013 Part B News Salary Survey. But much like Part B News learned of billers and coders, those increases came with more job duties such as ICD-10 training and transitioning the practice to an electronic health records (EHR) system.

Cuts to in-office ancillary services, drug payments in 2014 Obama budget

04/11/2013

by: Karen Long

Medicare proposals — such as excluding services from the in-office ancillary services exception — in President Barack Obama’s 2014 budget could save $371 billion over 10 years.

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