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All Blogs

MACRA Compliance MIPS Eligibility

MACRA Compliance Step 1: Check Your MIPS Eligibility

Get ready — MACRA is definitely going live Jan. 1, and will most certainly have a huge impact on your claims payments. Before you jump on the MACRA bandwagon, you need to make sure that the program really applies to you. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that it would release […]
Published Date: October 11, 2016
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Medicare Payment Rate

Medicare Releases Your 2017 Payment Rate Based on PQRS and QRUR Data

On Sept. 26, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) made available for download your 2015 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) Feedback Reports and 2015 Annual Quality and Resource Use Reports (QRUR). These reports lay out your positive, neutral or negative payment adjustments under the PQRS and Value-Based Modifier programs, respectively, for your 2017 […]
Published Date: September 27, 2016
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ICD-10-CM Code

Laterality Frequently Unlocks ICD-10-CM Code Accuracy

To get your claims reimbursed, payers demand that you be as specific as possible with your ICD-10-CM code assignment. Often this means you must identify laterality and accurately adjust your coding to avoid claim denials and payer audits. When CMS implemented ICD-10, the number of diagnosis codes went from 14,000 to 68,000 — a massive jump. […]
Published Date: September 20, 2016
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MACRA Compliance

CMS Offers 4 Options for First Year MACRA Compliance

UPDATE: In response to CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt’s Sept. 8 announcement that the agency would not delay MACRA implementation, leaders of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and Ways and Means Committee issued a statement Sept. 9 indicating that they were pleased that CMS was moving forward with options for compliance with the […]
Published Date: September 9, 2016
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60-Day Rule Timeline

Avoid Tripping Over the 60-Day Rule Timeline … Know When to Start the Clock

The relatively new 60-Day Rule affects all Medicare and Medicaid providers regardless of specialty, size or type, and nailing down the exact date to begin your 60-day countdown is one of the most confusing compliance aspects — although other rule components can easily trip you up as well. The rule may seem straightforward — you […]
Published Date: September 6, 2016
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HIPAA Breaches

HHS Targeting Smaller HIPAA Breaches

Beginning in August, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) launched a new initiative to investigate smaller breach reports — meaning those that affect fewer than 500 individuals, the agency announced Aug. 18. This effort is based on a series of recent case settlements where OCR investigated smaller breaches […]
Published Date: August 30, 2016
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1,212 Injury Diagnosis Codes Changes

Make the 1,212 Injury Diagnosis Codes Changes Work for You

On Oct. 1, not only will your ICD-10 grace period end, but you also will have 1,212 injury code changes to comply with. That means you have no time to procrastinate, and you must ensure you’re ready … or you could be facing hefty denials. Almost every healthcare provider reports injury ICD-10 codes. And these […]
Published Date: August 23, 2016
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ICD-10 Test Claims Submitted

CMS Accept 89% of ICD-10 Test Claims Submitted

On June 2, 2014, CMS Acting Director, Niall Brennan, posted some exciting ICD-10 testing results to the CMS website. In summary, based on 2,600 participants, CMS accepted 89% of the more than 127,000 claims that were submitted with ICD-10 diagnoses. Brennan also posted that, “HHS expects to release an interim final rule….that would require the […]
Published Date: July 21, 2016
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Reduction in Your Medicare Reimbursement

Stop 1% Reduction in Your Medicare Reimbursement – You Still Have Time

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) requires Medicare providers that are not meaningful users of electronic health records (EHR) to start by taking a 1% pay cut as of January 1, 2015.  The payment adjustments will continue at 1% for every year if the provider is not a meaningful provider (maxing at […]
Published Date: July 21, 2016
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