CMS releases tool to help hospitals with price transparency

CMS recently released a web-based validation tool that assists hospitals with price transparency compliance. The updated V2.0 Online Validator Tool helps hospitals develop machine-readable files to comply with a federal…

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CMS Releases Proposed Rule for IRFs

On March 27, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) that would update payment policies for the 2025 fiscal year…

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How to Report New Code Category W44

One of the goals of medical coding is documenting encounter notes to the highest degree of specificity. ICD-10-CM had some existing codes for documenting foreign bodies entering through a natural…

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CMS extends MIPS deadline to April 15 amid fallout of Change cyberattack

Due to ongoing concerns with the impact the Change Healthcare cybersecurity attack is having on physician practices, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the 2023 MIPS…

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AMA issues principles for guiding AI development and use

Amid the rapid growth of what it calls “augmented intelligence” (AI) in health care, the American Medical Association (AMA) has issued a set of principles to channel the technology’s development…

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Hospitals want CMS to correct MA plan policies on coverage

The American Hospital Association is asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to crack down on Medicare Advantage insurers it says are blatantly flaunting CMS coverage rules. "We expressed…

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United Healthcare’s Medicare Advantage and the Two-Midnight Rule

Well, I suppose I have given you enough of a break from my writing about Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and the Two-Midnight Rule. Last week, United HealthCare (UHC) released its…

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Beware: Recent Changes to MDS Could Cause Audits

Recent changes to the minimum data set (MDS) assessment and recent audit activity targeting skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) appear to be an emerging issue.  As a reminder, the MDS assessment…

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Feds propose rule changes for No Surprises Act

Federal policy makers aim to revise the billing dispute resolution process in the No Surprises Act (NSA). The administration of President Joe Biden and the U.S. Departments of Health and…

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