You'll see almost as many price decreases as price increases for Part B drugs you bill in your office beginning in the second quarter of 2010 under CMS's Average Sales Price (ASP), plus 6% payment system, according to an exclusive Part B News analysis.

You won't have to worry about the new GX modifier, which CMS intends for use with Part A claims when a voluntary advance beneficiary notice of non-coverage (ABN) form is issued to patients, an agency official says.

PPACA mandates HHS develop new standards for filing and receiving claims, many of which medical societies such as the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) have suggested for years. You won't see the entire law implemented immediately, but HHS will develop and finalize rules for "administrative simplification" provisions over the next six years, according to the law.

Having your physicians dictate notes into a computer could reduce costs while improving the accuracy and speed of your claims processing, according to your peers who've adopted the technology. A five-physician specialty practice in Seattle tells how they switched from using a human transcriptionist to voice recognition software in 2005.

You'll see a retroactive payment increase averaging between roughly 1% and 3% if you practice in one of more than 50 localities affected by a geographic price cost index (GPCIs) adjustment in the health care reform bill. The Patient Protection and Affordability Act (PPACA) retroactively restores the minimum work GPCI factor of 1.000 to the Medicare payment formula. The floor expired Jan. 1, so providers in 54 geographic areas experienced decreases in payment because their work GPCI dropped below 1.000.

The passage of historic, controversial health reform legislation and its costs have complicated the temporary payment fix you and your peers have come to expect from Congress every year, experts tell Part B News. The highly partisan debate over reform and its costs are largely responsible for just a one-month pay fix and the need for immediate action again to stave off the 21% cut mandated by the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, a health care industry expert says.

The massive, 2,400-page health care reform bill adopted over the weekend means new opportunities and challenges for your practice. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) passed the House of Representatives late Sunday night by a 219-212 vote. The White House says President Barack Obama is expected to sign PPACA into law on Tuesday (UPDATE: read our most recent coverage here).

Your practice will see lots of new opportunities from the massive, $1 trillion health care reform bill signed into law March 23, but you can expect to deal with new fraud mandates as well. The landmark legislation makes a number of changes to the Medicare program that will impact your practice over the next several years. 

Congress may miss another deadline, leading to a devastating 21% cut to Medicare reimbursements. The House of Representatives and Senate had not yet agreed on a bill delaying the sustainable growth rate (SGR) cut to your payments set for April 1 as Part B News went to press.

Your efforts to implement an electronic health record (EHR) system and snag up to $44,000 in federal bonus money could get a big boost from new, government-funded entities called health information technology regional extension centers (RECs).