The conversion factor was increased twice in one week. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in a rare move, recently raised the conversion factor (CF) twice in one…
There are very few places in the U.S. that are experiencing low levels of disease and hospitalization. As I and many experts predicted, the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States…
For many providers, the end of the pandemic is in sight with the recent emergency use authorization of a COVID-19 vaccine. And while this may be true, it is just…
Sunday morning, I received an email from my father’s assisted living facility, indicating that several residents and staff had tested positive for COVID-19 during their newly implemented routine testing of…
We are getting more sophisticated and knowledgeable about COVID-19, but I am still getting a lot of questions. Many of them are variations on the theme of what to do…
Rightfully so, the coronavirus pandemic has shone the spotlight on front-line medical professionals who continue to risk their lives treating patients. In the background and often working from home, though,…
As employers grapple with how to screen employees for the coronavirus upon returning to the workplace, several federal agencies have issued new testing rules and guidance. In June, there were…
We are learning more every day about the sequela conditions that might arise as a result of COVID-19. The early studies have found decreased lung function that might not be…
A federal court last week rejected arguments put forward by the American Hospital Association (AHA) and other hospital groups alleging that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Transparency…
The American Medical Association (AMA) recently updated Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) to enable proper COVID-19 coding and billing of antigen tests performed on patients suspected of being infected with the…
We hear increasing calls for greater government involvement in health care as the solution to future pandemics and health care problems in general. Ironically, the pandemic illustrates exactly the opposite. The…
Covid-19 Opens up Vast Opportunities for Today’s Snake Oil Salesmen The COVID-19 crisis in the United States has opened vast opportunities for fraud of every type. The scale and scope…
The American Medical Association (AMA) has a release an update to the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) which includes a new code for reporting antigen testing of patients suspected to be…
With concerns of COVID-19 having a disproportionate impact on certain individuals, such as minorities and the elderly, public health experts are requiring more detailed data, provided on a real-time basis…
Being nice can get you in trouble. But as David Glaser, Dr. Ronald Hirsch, and I have said over and over, being nice and putting patient care first should be…
A lot of information is appearing very fast about COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), and medical coders have the extra challenge of sorting through the onslaught to find the bits relevant…