Archive for The Month of March, 2006
Archive for the Month of March, 2006
Welcome to the medical billing blog archive for the month of March, 2006.
Here you will find links to every article added to the Outsource Management Group web site during the month of March, 2006.
You can browse this month's archives by clicking the "More" button from any of the excerpts below.
Paying For Performance May Improve The Quality of Medical Care
P4P is a revolutionary method of figuring medical billing payments. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced that the method of “paying for performance” works to improve the quality of a patient’s care. The current medical billing demonstration that took place had encouraging results for CMS. The areas in which the pay for performance method has been shown to improve the most care is with pneumonia, hip and knee replacements, and heart care. These improvements of care were shown in the first year of the trial run. Only certain hospitals took part in this medical billing study. In the second year of the trial, the quality of care …
Ohio’s Crackdown on Medical Billing Fraud
Recently, several Ohio home health providers have been caught red handed in medical billing fraud. There is nothing worse than medical billing fraud. It costs the United States citizens billions of dollars each and every year. To prevent this fraud, the state of Ohio created a task force to investigate Medicaid providers. This task force found four separate incidences of medical billing fraud. One of the main cases found was with Community Home Health Services Inc and Kevin Dennis. Apparently, this organization billed Medicaid over $32 million dollars in fraudulent payments between June of 2000 and May of 2005. Kevin Dennis used $650,000 of this fraudulent medical billing for his …
A Light at the End of the Billing Tunnel for Oncologists
For quite a while, medical billing has become much like a nightmare for oncology practices across the country. Cancer treatment can be a very expensive service for patients. Some people can’t afford the Medicare part B drug copay. Oncology practices have been forced to sacrifice their own medical billing to help needy patients. When a patient can’t make a payment, usually the answer is simple, don’t provide them services. However, when it comes to cancer treatment, it is nearly impossible to turn down a patient for drugs. Many oncologists have been waiving the Medicare part B copay for their patients. This means they get less for medical billing reimbursement. MedPAC, …
Limited Outpatient Therapy Medical Billing Payments
In an effort to limit medical billing reimbursement, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has taken action. Beginning on January 1, 2006, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will reinstate the outpatient therapy cap. This medical billing change may negatively effect your bottom line, but is the best option in the long run. The new medical billing limits for outpatient therapy will be $1,740 for occupational therapy and $1,740 for physical therapy and speech pathology combined. However, these two caps do not affect any therapy provided through home health care. The reason for this medical billing cap is because of the increase in outpatient therapy charges in the …
Outsourcing Your Medical Billing – Your Practice Depends On It!
Did you know that if you are not outsourcing your medical billing, chances are very good you are throwing away about one third of your revenue from your practice. That’s a lot of money to not be collecting. You could vastly and quickly improve your reimbursement rate and collection of funds owed if you outsource your medical billing. Many practices still submit claims via paper, other practices submit their claims electronically but don’t have time to keep up with the coding and billing changes that can occur, many times as frequently as four times per year. Studies show, practices that outsource their medical billing to a medical billing partner that …
Great Medical Billing News for Physicians
A positive medical billing change is on the horizon for physicians. As of January of 2006, the American Medical Association (AMA) released new care plan oversight CPT codes and definitions. These medical billing changes will expand the flexibility and usage of these old codes. There are three major evaluation and management changes that will occur. The first medical billing change is the introduction of two care plan oversight codes. These new codes are different because they do not require a patient to be under the care of a home health agency, nursing home, or hospice. In 2005, the stipulation in medical billing was that the patent must be in one …
How Can Complete Practice Analysis Benefit Your Practice?
If you’re not outsourcing your medical billing, you’re already behind. You have a busy practice, your staff is pushed to the max with patients and phones and day to day activities. One fantastic way that outsourced medical billing can benefit your practice, besides the convenience of handing your medical billing and/or coding for your practice is through a service called Practice Analysis. It can include handling the medical billing for your office, and receiving the data through electronic or secured network. Processing and submitting your claims. In addition, the coding of your medical billing can be handled through your medical billing partner and can be checked and double checked for …
Specified Covered Outpatient Drug Payments Make GAO Unhappy
Right now the Government Accountability Office is not a medical billing staff member’s best friend. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are going head to head with the Government Accountability Office in regards to the new medical billing outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS). The Government Accountability Office claims that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has overestimated payments for prescription drugs and radio pharmaceuticals. They claim that the amount Medicare will pay for medical billing is more than it will cost hospitals to acquire these drugs. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are planning to use a system called SCOD (specified covered outpatient drugs) to calculate the …
Don’t Lose Money With Radiation Medical Billing
You could be losing money on radiation treatment therapy if you don’t do your medical billing correctly. Did you know that you could lose out on over $100 if you miss one radiation therapy reimbursement. A great medical billing skill is knowing how to maximize your revenue with radiation therapy. Radiation is a type of treatment that is frequently done two or even three times a day. It is a perfectly acceptable medical billing practice to bill separately for radiation completed on the same day. It is important, however, to pay attention to the medical billing requirements set forth by the payers. Many payers require a certain amount of time …
Ways to Protect Medical Billing PHI
Transcription is a large factor in medical billing. A lot of medical transcription is hired outside of physician’s office. This can leave a lot of room for internet criminals to steal valuable PHI information used in your medical billing. Protecting your patient’s PHI not only protects your practice, but also protects their identity. There are several steps you can take to protect your patients’ medical billing PHI. The ability for criminals to obtain PHI has increased over the recent years and made it necessary to install security measures. You may know what your medical billing security practices are, but you must also know what those practices are for your transcription …
