Surprise billing occurs when patients receive care from out-of-network providers without their knowledge. On July 1, the Biden Administration passed an interim final rule: the first portion of the “Requirements Related to the Surprise Billing Act,” in an attempt to curb excessive costs patients are required to pay in relation to surprise billing. The rule […]
Review the AMA’s updated definition of what constitutes a unique test. Many coders are asking the question, “What is a unique test?” As always, we must first turn to the guidelines to see how “test” is defined. In the original published guidelines, the American Medical Association (AMA) stated: “Tests are imaging, laboratory, psychometric, or physiologic […]
The American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) CPT® Editorial Panel has released eight new COVID-19-related codes to report a new formulation of the Pfizer vaccine, a Moderna booster vaccine, and a Pfizer booster using either the new or old formulation. These codes are in addition to the four new CPT codes released last month and the many […]
Midland Memorial Hospital agreed to pay over $555,000 for a medical coding error that resulted in claims being sent out for reimbursement from the government even though patients did not have a primary COVID-19 diagnosis. The Texas hospital told local news source News West9 that it miscoded 87 claims last November and sent those […]
Reducing denials starts with understanding osteopathic manipulation as well as coding and coverage guidelines for this therapy. Is it appropriate to bill an evaluation and management (E/M) service when osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is performed at the same visit? We must address a few key principles to adequately answer this question. I learned quickly, having […]
It is critical to submit comments on proposed rule on critical care. As I said last week, the Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule for the 2022 calendar year (CY) came out July 23, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is soliciting comments by Sept. 13 I’m going to review the proposed changes […]
4 Strategies For Accurate Medical Coding and Denial Prevention Payers typically deny evaluation and management codes (E/M code) on the back end of the billing process, which can cause costly reimbursement recoupments, according to Medical Economics. Four tips to avoid denials caused by inaccurate E/M levels: Make sure the E/M code supports the specific patient encounter. […]
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that aims to lower healthcare costs by improving price transparency. Seven Things To Know: The order, signed June 24 at the White House, directs HHS to develop rules requiring hospitals to publish prices “that reflect what people actually pay for services in a way that’s clear, straightforward and accessible […]
Every business not only wants to attract new customers but to keep its existing ones, and hospitals and health systems are no different. Unfortunately, surprise medical bills can be the element that drives patients away from one hospital and into the waiting arms of the competition. New research published this month in Health Affairs provides hospitals with […]