A list of approved qualified clinical data registries was finally released late last month, five months into the first reporting period for the CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System. Among the list of approved QCDRs was ACEPs Clinical Emergency Data Registry. Read more
Emergency physicians charge uninsured or out of network patients as much as four times more than what they are willing to accept in payment from Medicare, according to a recent study from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. But the American College of Emergency Physicians says the study relies on flawed methodology and incorrect assumptions about the cost of emergency care. Read more
The US healthcare industry breathed a collective sigh of relief when the recent ransomware attack, WannaCry, appeared to bypass the United States. But the WannaCry malware isn’t the only persistent cybersecurity risk facing healthcare providers. How do healthcare organizations protect themselves from cyber attacks? Read more
The incorrect use of modifiers routinely ranks among the top billing errors for federal, state, and private payers, according to Medicare Administrative Contractor WPS-GHA. Not sure if you are using modifiers correctly? Here’s a refresher of some of the more common modifiers used in anesthesia billing, particularly for Medicare. Read more
Regular Medicare revalidations, which were mandated in the Affordable Care Act and commenced in March 2016 after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) completed their first widespread validation of all Medicare providers, are in full-swing. But the process is not without its challenges. Read more
Emergency physicians in Kansas and Missouri are raising new concerns about insurers refusing to pay or paying only a screening fee for patients being treated for conditions which they claim are non-urgent. Is Indiana next? Read more
Rendering providers who have yet to be linked to one of their group’s service locations in the Indiana Medicaid program will have a few extra months to meet the requirement before the payer begins denying claims. Read more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently published a new online tool to help providers know if they are eligible (and thus will need to submit data) for the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System. Read more
Before the 2017 ASA commercial surveys are distributed this summer, we thought we’d take a look at the 2016 results and the state of commercial payments. Read more
We’re almost four months into the 2017 reporting year for the new MACRA Quality Payment Program, but many providers still aren’t sure how to participate or whether they even need to. But the onus for preparing for the QPP is not entirely on providers. Read more
