Contending that the COVID-19 pandemic forced medicine to evolve by accelerating the use of telehealth, a speaker said it is critical to consider the future role of virtual care and how the best clinical outcomes can be achieved. “COVID-19 has changed the way we view medicine and we’re not going to go back,” Martin Schreiber, MD, chief […]
Medicare spending on physician services decreased by $9.4 billion, or 19 percent, in the first half of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new analysis from the American Medical Association (AMA). The analysis of Medicare Physician Fee Schedule claims from January to June last year found that Medicare spending dropped by as much […]
This new law is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2022. In the closing days of 2020, Congress enacted and the President signed into law the “No Surprises Act.” But what does that mean for providers and patients exactly? The Act contains key protections to hold consumers harmless from the cost of unanticipated […]
An ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee virtual meeting is scheduled for March 9–10, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics (CDC NCHS) have posted tentative agendas on their websites. Stakeholders will present on a […]
CMS is reminding organizations of Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) billing and appeal processes after the agency inappropriately denied some claims. Organizations are advised that they must continue to provide services to patients who have open or closed secondary payer records on file or if Medicare inappropriately denied a claim, according to MLN Matters SE21002. Organizations are […]
The Biden administration will provide COVID-19 reimbursement to clinicians vaccinating uninsured patients, according to new CMS guidance. The guidance released on Feb. 26, 2021, stated that providers can still seek reimbursement from the FFCRA Relief Fund and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (PPPHCEA), as well as the Provider Relief Fund, for the […]
Federal officials are ordering plans and insurers to cover testing without cost-sharing – for virtually any purpose. Federal officials have issued new guidance intended to streamline the process through which Americans can get easy, free access to COVID-19 diagnostic testing and/or vaccinations. “This guidance makes clear that private group health plans and issuers generally cannot […]
For several, it is hard to envision the future of Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) era. How does this technology accelerate the business cycle and affect healthcare back-office day-to-day work? It is unknown when AI will be the industry norm at this stage, but there is some speculation about potential advantages […]
Inefficiency is an issue that continues to plague many areas of healthcare, particularly when it comes to manual administrative functions. While the industry is increasingly harnessing technology – evidenced by the use of telehealth and the push for electronic health record interoperability – administrative complexity continues to be burdensome, and largely paper- and fax-driven. This […]
To support the sudden increase in test results and medical records being transmitted during the pandemic, hospitals, laboratories, and pharmacies implemented additional devices and remote connections into their networks. After the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) lifted penalties around telehealth to expand care options amid the crisis, new platforms were adopted that were not previously allowed […]