In preparation for the Health Exchange launch in Oregon later this year, the insurance landscape is changing as existing payers design their offerings and new payers are being introduced. In May, physicians throughout Oregon received an invitation to participate in a new insurance plan...
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Friday, February 22, 2013
Everyone is keeping a wary eye on the October, 1, 2014 implementation date when CMS plans to move from ICD-9 to ICD-10 diagnosis and inpatient procedure codes. While this deadline was postponed once due to the competing initiatives of Meaningful Use, CMS maintains that they will...
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Good News!
Effective November 1, 2012, CareOregon has changed its policy to accept retroactive authorization requests from providers.
To request a retroactive authorization, complete and fax a CareOregon...
Friday, September 21, 2012
Many providers inquire about the billing of a new patient face-to-face visit. This article clarifies the term "new patient" as defined by Medicare and identifies when a new patient code can or cannot be billed.
CMS defines the phrase "new patient" as:
- A...
Friday, August 24, 2012
ICD-10 Announcement
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has just announced a final rule establishing a one-year delay - from Oct. 1, 2013, to Oct. 1, 2014- in the compliance date for use of the ICD-10 Coding system. The one year delay is in response to complaints by the AMA and...
Thursday, May 31, 2012
CMS has announced that providers (or billing companies on behalf of providers) can submit the provider’s 855 enrollment application 60 days prior to their start date. The new policy took effect on May 14th and was done...
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Washington has been busy in the last few years creating incentives and penalties to promote electronic medical records, electronic prescribing, and quality initiatives, all with their own requirements but similar timelines. If you are confused about how these programs interact with...
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
eRx Program Summary
In 2009, CMS implemented the Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program, which is a program that uses incentive payments and payment adjustments to encourage the use of qualified electronic prescribing systems.
From calendar year (CY...
Monday, April 30, 2012
Pay For Performance/Value Based Purchasing Initiative Heats Up
Thousands of physicians received a sneak-peek at their future recently when CMS sent them quality reporting data...
Monday, April 30, 2012
On February 12th, CMS announced the release of a Program Transmittal (2407) re-establishing CMS policy on Place of Service codes. The Transmittal was intended to revise and clarify national policy for POS code...
