**Updated May 16, 2011 - Don't Forget to Register for the: CMS ICD-10 Conversion Activities National Provider Teleconference, Including a Lab Case Study. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a national provider teleconference on "CMS ICD-10 Conversion Activities". Subject matter experts will discuss the ICD-10 conversion process currently taking place within CMS, including a case study from the CMS Coverage and Analysis Group on their transition to ICD-10 for the lab national coverage determinations (NCDs). A question and answer session will follow the presentations. When: Wednesday, May 18, 2011; Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET; Target Audience: Medical coders, physician office staff, provider billing staff, health records staff, vendors, educators, system maintainers, laboratories, and all Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) providers. The following topics will be discussed: ICD-10 overview; Lab NCDs conversion process from ICD-9-CM to 1CD-10-CM; Home health conversion; OASIS and procedure code reporting; Update on claims spanning the implementation date; National ICD-10 implementation issues; Registration information: To register for this informative session, please go to http://www.cms.gov/ICD10/Tel10/itemdetail.asp?itemID=CMS1246998 on the CMS website. Registration will close at 1:00 p.m. ET on May 17, 2011, or when available space has been filled. No exceptions will be made. Please register early.
**Updated May 11, 2011- The proposed agenda for the next Physician Nurses & Allied Health Open Door Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, May 17, 2011 from 2:00pm-3:00pmET is as follows: Claims Reprocessing; HIPAA Version 5010 Standards; PCIP Update; Recruitment of Therapy Providers for DOTPA Research Study. This agenda is subject to Change. If you wish to participate, dial 1-800-837-1935 Conference ID 50103486. Please see the full participation announcement in the Downloads section below. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
**Updated May 3, 2011- Special Open Door Forum: 2011 Physician Quality Reporting System (previously known as the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative or PQRI) and Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Programs: ICD-10 Conversion and E-Prescribing (eRx) Incentive programs - Thursday, May 26, 2011; from 2:30pm- 3:30pm ET. This Special Open Door Forum will focus on ICD-10 Conversion. Following the presentation, the telephone lines will be opened to allow participants to ask questions of the CMS subject matter experts. This agenda is subject to Change. If you wish to participate, dial 1-800-837-1935 Conference ID 44767414. Please see the full participation announcement in the Downloads section below. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
**Updated April 26, 2011- Special Open Door Forum: Partnership for Patients: The Community-Based Care Transitions Program - Thursday, May 5, 2011, from 1:00pm-2:30pmET. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services invites you to participate in a 90 minute national Forum for individuals and organizations that wish to learn more about the CMS Community-Based Care Transitions Program. The Community Based Care Transitions Program (CCTP) mandated by Section 3026 of the Affordable Care Act is specifically designed to encourage the development of strong partnerships between hospitals with high readmission rates and community based organizations (CBOs). These partners are encouraged to implement evidence based interventions targeting high risk beneficiaries from their communities who would most benefit from the proposed interventions. The specific goals of the CCTP program are to: Improve transitions of beneficiaries from the inpatient hospital setting to other care settings; Improve quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries; Reduce avoidable hospital readmissions for high risk beneficiaries; Document measureable savings to the Medicare program This agenda is subject to Change. If you wish to participate, dial 1-800-837-1935 Conference ID 62519672. Please see the full participation announcement in the Downloads section below. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
**Updated April 8, 2011- Special Open Door Forum: Presentation and Listening Session on Hospital Wage Index Reform - Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM ET. Section 3137(b) of the Affordable Care Act requires CMS to submit to Congress, by December 31, 2011, a report that includes a plan to reform the wage index under the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS). CMS acquired the services of Acumen, LLC to assist in its study of the wage index. During the first part of this special open door forum, Acumen will present its concept of an alternative methodology for the wage index. The second part will be a listening session, during which CMS would like to hear from you regarding your opinions about Acumen's concept, as well as any suggestions on alternative methods for computing the wage index. If you wish to participate via conference call, dial 1-800-837-1935 Conference ID 50101623. Please see the full participation announcement in the Downloads section below. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
**Updated April 6, 2011- An Invitation for Physicians and Other Medicare Providers to Join the CMS Center for Medicare Management Director Jonathan Blum to discuss new efforts to improve care for Medicare beneficiaries
Please join us on Wednesday, April 6, 2011, at 1pm ET for a conference call with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Center for Medicare Management Director Jonathan Blum, to discuss proposed new rules to help doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers offer better coordinated care for Medicare patients through Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). This call is intended to help the public understand what the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency administering the ACO program, is proposing to do and to ensure that the public understands how to participate in the formal comment process. To participate dial: 1-866-501-5502 Conference ID: 56407563. Thank you.
**Updated April 1, 2011- Special Open Door Forum: 2011 Physician Quality Reporting System and Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Programs: Physician Quality Reporting System/E-Prescribing Success Stories - Thursday, April 14, 2011, from 2:300pm-3:30pmET. This Special Open Door Forum will focus on: Physician Reporting and E-Prescribing Success Stories with presentations. The success stories will focus on the following: Practice Description; Years of Experience; Implementation of the Physician Quality Reporting and E-Prescribing Incentive Programs; Lessons Learned. Following the presentations, the telephone lines will be opened to allow participants to ask questions of the subject matter experts. This agenda is subject to Change. If you wish to participate, dial 1-800-837-1935 Conference ID 44767416. Please see the full participation announcement in the Downloads section below. Thank you for your continued interest in the CMS Open Door Forums.
**Updated March 31, 2011- Effective April 1, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expects home health agencies and hospices have fully established internal processes to comply with the face-to-face encounter requirements mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for purposes of certification of a patient's eligibility for Medicare home health services and of recertification for Medicare hospice services.
Section 6407 of the ACA established a face-to-face encounter requirement for certification of eligibility for Medicare home health services, by requiring the certifying physician to document that he or she, or a non-physician practitioner working with the physician, has seen the patient. The encounter must occur within the 90 days prior to the start of care, or within the 30 days after the start of care. Documentation of such an encounter must be present on certifications for patients with starts of care on or after January 1, 2011.
Similarly, section 3131(b) of the ACA requires a hospice physician or nurse practitioner to have a face-to-face encounter with a hospice patient prior to the patient's 180th-day recertification, and each subsequent recertification. The encounter must occur no more than 30 calendar days prior to the start of the hospice patient's third benefit period. The provision applies to recertifications on and after January 1, 2011.
On December 23, 2010, due to concerns that some providers needed additional time to establish operational protocols necessary to comply with face-to-face encounter requirements mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for purposes of certification of a patient's eligibility for Medicare home health services and of recertification for Medicare hospice services, CMS announced that it will expect full compliance with the requirements, beginning with the second quarter of CY2011.
Throughout the first quarter of 2011, CMS has continued outreach efforts to educate providers, physicians, and other stakeholders affected by these new requirements. CMS has posted guidance materials including a MLN Matters article, questions and answers documents, training slides, and manual instructions which are available via CMS' Home Health Agency Center and Hospice webpages. CMS' Office of External Affairs and Regional Offices contacted state and local associations for physicians and home health agencies and advocacy groups to ensure awareness about the face-to-face encounter laws, and to distribute the educational materials.
CMS will continue to address industry questions concerning the new requirements, and will update information on our Web site at http://www.cms.gov/center/hha.asp and http://www.cms.gov/center/hospice.asp.
**Updated March 2, 2011- The Sixth Annual Administration of the CMS 2011 Medicare Contractor Provider Satisfaction Survey (MCPSS). In case you've forgotten or haven't heard, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched its annual Medicare Contractor Provider Satisfaction Survey (MCPSS). This is a friendly reminder to encourage selected providers to take the survey. The survey offers Medicare FFS providers and suppliers an opportunity to give CMS feedback on their interactions with Medicare FFS contractors related to seven key business functions: Provider Inquiries, Provider Outreach & Education, Claims Processing, Appeals, Provider Enrollment, Medical Review, and Provider Audit & Reimbursement. As a result of past survey responses, Medicare FFS Contractors have implemented changes to improve their communication processes and education &training of their staff. The survey was sent to a random sample of approximately 30,000 Medicare FFS providers and suppliers. Those who were selected to participate in the 2011 MCPSS were notified in December 2010. CMS understands that providers and suppliers themselves may not to be able to respond directly to the survey, but may have a staff member who can act as a proxy to respond on their behalf. The respondent can be anyone within the provider's organization that is knowledgeable of the Medicare claims process and is designated to respond to the MCPSS including but not limited to the Business Office manager, Revenue Cycle Director or Medicare Biller. If you have received a survey letter, then you are selected to participate. Please take the time to complete this important survey. CMS encourages providers and suppliers to complete the survey on the Internet via a secure website. Other modes of participation are available by mail, fax, or telephone. It will take no more than 20 minutes. CMS is listening and wants to hear from you. To learn more about the MCPSS, please visit the CMS website at www.cms.hhs.gov/MCPSS. If you have any questions or concerns, please call our toll-free MCPSS Provider Helpline number at 1-800-654-1431 or send an email to MCPSS_survey@scimetrika.com. If you've already completed and submitted your survey, we thank you for your feedback.
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Physicians Nurses & Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum Overview
The Physicians, Nurses, and Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum addresses the concerns and issues of Medicare and Medicaid physicians, non-physician practitioners, nurses, and other allied health care specialists. This diverse group of providers serves Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in almost all service settings, ranging from independent physician offices to specialized departments within larger facilities. The types of issues that come up during this forum are as varied as the providers who participate, but some frequent topics include the Physician Fee Schedule, Stark regulations, care plan oversight, payment and documentation rules, Provider Enrollment Chain Ownership System (PECOS), as well as the roles and responsibilities of different allied health professional staff under CMS regulations. Timely announcements and clarifications regarding important rulemaking, quality program initiatives, and other related areas are also included in the forums.
Dallas L Alford IV, CPA is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of North Carolina and owner of Atlantic Financial Consulting, a consulting firm that provides comprehensive medical billing services, practice management consulting, coding audits, Medicare compliance, Medicare RAC support and other general medical practice consulting services.
To learn more about Atlantic Financial Consulting you may visit their website at http://atlanticfinancial.us or contact Dallas L Alford IV, CPA directly at 1 888-428-2555, Ext. 200.
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