Cardiology medical billing suffers from high denial rates due to the strict bundling rules of the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI), absolute medical necessity tracking, and precise component matching. Procedures and Claim Adjustment Reason Codes (CARC) 1. Echocardiography: CPT 93306 The Denial Code: CO-16 (Claim/service lacks information) or CO-50 (Not medically necessary). The Root Cause: […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has unveiled its Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 IPPS Proposed Rule, which outlines significant updates to three key Medicare hospital quality initiatives: the Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program, the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), and the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program. These proposed changes, outlined in the IPPS […]
As a result of the most recent provider lawsuit, IDR processing fees have been reworked. Since its inception on Jan. 1, 2022, the No Surprises Act (NSA) has had its growing pains, including four lawsuits challenging the process of Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR). Out-of-network services are paid for with this process when health plans, healthcare […]
While not every policy alteration by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) grabs headlines, it’s often these less-publicized changes that lead to the most billing complications. Here are a couple of recent adjustments made by CMS that you might have overlooked. New Place of Service Code CMS introduced a new Place of Service […]
CMS says it the goal is to support health equity while focusing on high-quality person-centered care. Increased leverage of telehealth for behavioral care, diabetes prevention and mitigation, and enhanced payment for vaccine administration were three out of many priorities cited by federal officials who announced the release of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid […]
Retroactive code pricing updates may require claims lookback. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted a retroactive update to the April Average Sales Price (ASP) pricing file for three Medicare Part B drugs. Also now available are the July ASP and Not Otherwise Classified (NOC) pricing files and the ASP NDC HCPCS […]






