Month: June 2019

Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers

The New Medicare Cards: What You Need to Know About Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers (MBIs)

To protect the privacy of Medicare recipients and prevent fraudulent use of Social Security Numbers (SSN), a new, unique 11-character Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) is replacing the SSN-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) for Medicare transactions such as billing, eligibility status, and claim submissions. The MBI does not change Medicare benefits. What’s Behind The Change? The […]
Change To RT And LT Modifiers Use

Change To RT And LT Modifiers Use

The Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administrative Contractors (DME MAC) are changing the requirement that medical coders to use the right (RT) and left (LT) modifiers for certain HCPCS codes, and that the modifiers be used when billing two of the same item or accessory on the same date of service and the items are being used bilaterally. The […]
CMS Releases FY 2020 ICD-10-PCS Codes Set

CMS Releases FY 2020 ICD-10-PCS Codes Set

CMS released the fiscal year (FY) 2020 ICD-10-PCS changes on Friday, May 31, which include two code revisions, 734 additions, and 2,056 invalidations. The files include information on ICD-10-PCS updates that all inpatient coders must use for discharges occurring from October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020. The total number of ICD-10-PCS codes for 2019 was 78,881. […]
Union Lowers Medical Bills With Direct Negotiations

Union Lowers Medical Bills With Direct Negotiations

As companies shift more and more healthcare costs to their employees, the doormen, office cleaners, cafeteria staff and other members of the union 32BJ SEIU remain among the lucky few who pay no premiums and have no deductibles as part of their benefit plan. Keeping it that way has been no easy task. With each new collective-bargaining agreement, the […]