Are CDI Programs Operating at the Top of Their Game?

The clinical documentation integrity (CDI) profession began its heyday in 2008, with the advent of the Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Group (MS-DRG) system that built and expanded upon the simpler system…

Comments Off on Are CDI Programs Operating at the Top of Their Game?

CMS reports over 12,000 No Surprises Act violations 

The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services this week released a report  on complaints and enforcement efforts concerning the Public Health Service Act, which includes the No Surprises Act.  As…

Comments Off on CMS reports over 12,000 No Surprises Act violations 

CMS Rolls Out Largest-Ever Navigator PPACA Enrollment Grant Offering

An unprecedented number of individuals are now enrolled in Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) Marketplace health insurance plans – and federal officials this week signaled that the trend…

Comments Off on CMS Rolls Out Largest-Ever Navigator PPACA Enrollment Grant Offering

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…

Comments Off on Hospitals want CMS to correct MA plan policies on coverage

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…

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

Inside the proposed 2024 Medicare physician pay schedule

The AMA’s experts have analyzed the 2,000-page 2024 Medicare physician payment schedule proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and are sharing their summary of key provisions (PDF)…

Comments Off on Inside the proposed 2024 Medicare physician pay schedule

News Alert: CMS Releases 2024 IPPS Final Rule

While most observers of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the release Wednesday of its final payment rule for inpatient and long-term care hospitals, caught many off-guard, expecting…

Comments Off on News Alert: CMS Releases 2024 IPPS Final Rule

Physicians unite to back cornerstone of Medicare pay overhaul

Months of high-level discussions regarding reforming Medicare physician payment has culminated in physician lawmakers introducing bipartisan legislation advancing the first leg of the AMA’s three-part strategy for fixing the broken…

Comments Off on Physicians unite to back cornerstone of Medicare pay overhaul

CMS offers guidance on medical billing disputes in wake of Texas court ruling

Following a recent US District Court ruling on the federal government’s arbitration process for disputed medical billing—making the protocol for issuing decisions on disputed claims unclear—CMS posted some clarifying guidance…

Comments Off on CMS offers guidance on medical billing disputes in wake of Texas court ruling

2023 Medicare Final Rules: Long-Awaited, Highly Anticipated

The final rules become effective Jan. 1, 2023. Amid this election season, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published final rules for the 2023 Part B Physician…

Comments Off on 2023 Medicare Final Rules: Long-Awaited, Highly Anticipated