The COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies are being paid under the vaccine benefit. Q: What revenue code should be attached to HCPCS codes M0239 (intravenous infusion, bamlanivimab-xxxx, includes infusion and post administration monitoring) and M0243 (intravenous infusion, casirivimab and imdevimab includes infusion and post administration monitoring)? We set it up as revenue code 260 but are getting […]
Medicare Radiology Payment System approach to advanced imaging reimbursement has been “dysfunctional” for decades, but health policy experts have a few suggestions to fix it. Over the past 20 years, the federal payment program witnessed “substantial” increases in the performance of MRIs, CT scans and nuclear studies, mostly in doc offices. A shift later […]
As promised, this is a follow-up to our first blog post on the new federal transparency requirements. In our prior post, we summarized the Hospital Price Transparency rule which went into effect on January 1, 2021, and here we discuss the transparency rules contained in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”), which apply to both health plans […]
Some providers are taking steps to serve those that have historically been neglected. When examining the big picture of our society, rural America is grossly under-represented in many ways. While areas defined as “rural” comprise 80% of the total US land area, its inhabitants comprise only 20% of the US population (US Census Bureau) In other words, […]
Most physicians still faced a high prior authorization burden despite treating a surge of positive COVID-19 cases this winter, the American Medical Association (AMA) reports. In a survey of 1,000 practicing physicians between Nov. 23, 2020, and Dec. 14, 2020, AMA found that 85 percent of physicians described the burden associated with prior authorization as high […]
Both rules would do more than merely impact payment. Federal officials this week unveiled a pair of proposed rules that are likely to have significant ramifications for hospice and skilled nursing facility (SNF) providers nationwide. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rules 1754-P and 1756-P were issued on Thursday, along with lengthy fact sheets […]
CMS has released the proposed rules for the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Prospective Payment System and the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Prospective Payment System for fiscal year (FY) 2022. Issued yesterday, the proposed FY 2022 IRF Prospective Payment System rule would increase Medicare payments by 1.8 percent, or $160 million, compared to the previous fiscal year. The […]
Despite the strain placed on physicians by the COVID-19 pandemic, insurers continued to impose prior authorization requirements which delayed care and hurt some patients. According to a news release from the American Medical Association (AMA), a new survey showed that nearly 70 percent of the 1,000 respondents showed that health insurers had either reverted to prior authorization […]
CMS is temporarily holding claims from providers in anticipation of legislation that will extend the suspension of the 2 percent Medicare sequester, according to a recent newsletter. The MLN Connects newsletter from March 30 stated that CMS has “instructed the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to hold all claims with dates of service on or after April […]
Electronic Prior Authorization can have a positive impact for both physicians and patients. America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) published a news release stating that an analysis of the E-prior authorization process found that it was able to significantly reduce the time between a request for authorization and a decision and the time between the […]