Medical Billing Blog: Section - Medical Billing
Archive of all Articles in the Medical Billing Section
This is the archive containing links to all articles written in the Medical Billing section of our blog.
Click any of the article links below to read the entire article or browse another section to the right to read articles on another subject.
Do You Know the Three "R’s" of Consulting Reimbursements?
Since consultation requirements have increased in the last year as far as criteria for getting them reimbursed in your medical billing claims, there are some criteria you must be certain that your claims meet in order to justify using codes 99241-99255. It used to be simple and medical billing consultant merely had to meet the three “R’s” in order to justify medical billing claims for consultations. However the criteria for what does and does not constitute a consultation has changed and in order to make sure that your medical billing claims are paid, you need to reacquaint yourself with the three R’s of medical billing for consultations. The three R’s …
Definity Still Definitely a Problem in 2007
The injectable contract agent named Perflutren better known as Definity has caused a lot of confusion as many providers are billing the incorrect code and Medicare and most other large payors switched the code for this service in late 2005 and 2 years later it’s still showing up on medical billing and causing numerous delays and rejections on medical billing reimbursements. If you’re a service provider that is still billing A9700, you could face delays in getting paid–or even denials on your medical billing claims. If the carrier approves the main echocardiography procedure, then it will usually approve the use of Definity as contrast. If you are not sure of …
Wound Closure Medical Billing -Dermabond or Stitches?
When a wound needs closing and a tissue adhesive is used the medical billing coding can be different than when sutures or stitches are used. There are specific guidelines for medical billing when tissue adhesives are used. All adhesives including Dermabond have their own unique way of being reported on medical billing. Consult with Medicare or the carrier to ensure that you are meeting those guidelines prior to submitting your medical billing. There are five basic guidelines that Medicare requires in order to reimburse for this service and many carriers follow the same criteria for laceration closures utilizing Dermabond. You should report G0168 for Medicare patients only; the CPT code …
Is Your ADL Coding Accurate?
Will inaccurate activities of daily living scores hurt you? You bet. ADL coding is something that auditors will be watching heavily and if you’re not calculating yours correctly, you’ll penalized and fined. One way to make sure your facility is well within the guidelines of billing permissibly and ethically is to do a RUG profile of your residents and compare your facility to the state and national averages. You can compare at your facility to the other agencies in your state and against the national averages at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Web site (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/mds). If you find that your facility has far fewer rehab RUGs ending in …
Medical Billing for TB Screenings Made Easy
TB is in the news more and more and if you aren’t already seeing an increase in TB screenings, it’s likely your practice could experience it in the future. If you have a medical billing claim involving a patient that is at an increased risk for tuberculosis (TB) infection or is already having symptoms, a TB screening can be performed. If your practice runs these tests, be aware that in many cases, you can get reimbursed for the test as a medical necessity. When processing the medical billing for a TB skin test (86580) or blood test (86480) due to pulmonary TB symptoms or known TB exposure or risk. The …
