Payers can reduce surgical costs by 59 percent by shifting eligible members from the hospital outpatient setting to ambulatory surgery centers. Ambulatory surgery centers are care sites that offer surgical procedures, diagnostics, and preventive care services, according to the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. These sites are not provider offices, rural healthcare clinics, or urgent or […]
AAPC’s senior VP of products answers more of your questions about coding for office and other outpatient services. Ever since the release of the new 2021 evaluation and management (E/M) guidelines for office and other outpatient services, AAPC has been conducting numerous trainings through webinars, virtual workshops, conference sessions, online courses, and multiple articles in […]
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 […]
As the revenue cycle of the future becomes more automated and technology takes over rote tasks, revenue cycle employees need more complicated problem-solving skills and a deeper knowledge base than ever before. Technology is only as good as the data that’s fed into it, and the data is only as good as the people behind […]
What are the latest code changes? Get the facts, fast. This month, there’s new billing guidance for a COVID-19 vaccine; there are three new HCPCS Level II codes for COVID-19 therapeutic injections; and Medicare payment allowances for the 2021-22 influenza vaccine codes have been released. FDA Approves COVID-19 Vaccine Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine received the […]
In the newest episode of the HealthLeaders Revenue Cycle Podcast, Charlie Brown, MBA, a former hospital executive and vice president of revenue cycle at a consulting firm, provides actionable steps for mitigating status downgrades and dealing with them effectively to ensure that organizations receive the full reimbursement for the services they provided. In his […]
Outside financial aid might not be the best long-term solution to the national problem of high healthcare costs and inadequate insurance coverage, but two rural hospitals are taking innovative approaches to tapping philanthropic resources to reduce their bad debt and help patients with medical bills. The American Hospital Association’s latest Annual Survey of Hospitals showed […]
Understanding the qualifying payment amount and the initial information on the independent dispute resolution process “should be a short-term priority for revenue cycle leaders and their teams,” says attorney Harvey Rochman. Earlier this month, the federal government released an interim final rule outlining certain provisions of the No Surprises Act (NSA), which is designed […]
The interim rule is in response to the No Surprises Act, which directed multiple US departments to issue a rule that would quell surprise billing in commercial health plans. The Biden administration has issued an interim rule that regulates surprise billing in commercial health plans and employer-sponsored health plans, CMS announced. “No patient should forgo […]
Our hospital has been denied CPT code 52601 because the operative report does not mention the word complete. Although the operative note described the procedure in detail and the pathology report showed benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissue, why do we need to state the word complete? What does it mean in the CPT description? CPT […]