Over 1,500 hospitals reviewed in the report were noncompliant with at least one requirement of the price transparency rule between December 2022 and January 2023. Less than a quarter of hospitals are complying with the hospital price transparency rule over two years after the regulation went into effect, according to a report from PatientRightsAdvocate.org. The […]
The updates to ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS that become effective April 1 were released in mid-January. The updates include 42 new diagnosis codes. The significant changes to the ICD-10-CM guidelines are the following: A.19 – Code Assignment and Clinical Criteria This section has added a new sentence: “If there is conflicting medical record documentation, query the […]
Not Coding the Highest Level When it comes to ICD-10 coding, a coder’s job is to code to the highest level of specificity. This means detailing and abstracting the most information out of the medical reports from the provider and taking accurate notes. It also means knowing the medical terminology for both procedures and diagnoses. […]
Don’t assume the codes you’ve been using to report drugs and biologicals still apply. The January 2023 update to the HCPCS Level II code file from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) includes 184 new codes for reporting services and supplies. Approximately 36 of the new codes were created to separately identify products […]
Erica Remer, MD, CCDS, a Member Board of Directors of American College of Physician Advisors, have been talking about improving the electronic medical record and making it more end-user-friendly. Today, she grouses about documentation in general. Her husband, who is a radiologist, and she were commiserating at how awful and uninformative provider documentation has become […]
A new study found that people with diabetes who switched to a high deductible health plan (HDHP) were more likely to experience serious complications. Understand your insurance plan and what it covers. A January 2023 study led by Dr. Rozalina McCoy, endocrinologist and health services researcher at Mayo Clinic, found that people with diabetes who […]
The average health system saw 110,000 claim denials due to prior authorization and other factors in 2022, a recent study says. KEY TAKEAWAYS: Revenue cycle leaders are placing denials management at the top of the list of areas to improve for 2023. Denials rose to 11% of all claims last year, up nearly 8% from […]
The omnibus spending bill continues telehealth waivers for two years past the PHE, but was silent on the issue of reimbursement. The federal government extended telehealth waivers for two years, but the current higher rate of reimbursement is in place only through the end of this year. During the public health emergency, the Centers for […]
Healthcare providers submitting claims for services, supplies, and accessories ordered under the Medicare Intravenous Immune Globulin (IVIG) Demonstration can expect to see an approximate 2.1 percent payment increase over last year. The calendar year 2023 rate for HCPCS Level II code Q2052 is $392.56, compared with $384.59 in 2022. What is the Medicare Intravenous Immune Globulin Demonstration? […]
Contrary to widespread hopes, the growth in telehealth brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic probably won’t lower health care costs. But it may make some services more widely accessible. A new Kaiser Family Foundation study compares average 2020 commercial insurance payments for evaluation and management and mental health therapy claims for services provided via […]