Billing: 3 Steps Can Correct Your Cash Flow Woes (January 2012)
These simple strategies can improve your bottom line.If your accounts receivables (A/R) seem to be fluctuating from month to month, you could be making mistakes that are jeopardizing your cash flow. Follow these three simple recommendations to stabilize your A/R and cash flow.1. Start Penalizing Those No-Shows. Every practice has the occasional patient who doesn’t show up for an appointment, but if no-shows are becoming commonplace in your practice, you’re clearly losing out on reimbursement. In [...]
Clip And Save: Personalize This Template to Get Your No-Show Policy in Writing (January 2012)
Incorporate the no-show policy as part of your new patient financial packet.When missed appointments become a habit and cost your practice time and money, it’s time to get a commitment in writing from your patients that they understand they’ll be liable for no-shows. Create your own letter using this sample to ensure your practice isn’t letting patients take advantage of a lenient no-show policy.If your patients continue to abuse the practice’s policies, you may have [...]
Tip: Make this ‘rigid’ versus ‘flexible’ scope distinction. Are you relying on 31575 for all your diagnostic scope claims? You could be denying your practice up to $80 per claim, and during these times, you can’t afford to miss a dime. If you can spot these key terms for 31231 or 92511, then you can boost your claim’s bottom line. The numbers should be on your side if you grasp these scope fundamentals.Dispel 92511 ‘Loser’ [...]
Physician Note: Medicare Offers Handy Tool to Ease Preventive Service Billing Burden (January 2012)
Plus: Part B therapy cap will be held off a bit longer, thanks to Congressional vote.Between the IPPE, AWV, AAA, and beyond, you’re probably confused at the alphabet soup of options when billing preventive services to Medicare. CMS feels your pain, and has released a quick reference chart that can ease your billing woes when you provide preventive care to Medicare patients.The “Medicare Preventive Services Quick Reference Information: Preventive Services” chart can guide you through [...]
The 27 percent Medicare rate cut for physicians isn’t the only thing that got put off until March 1 in the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011.Congress extended the exceptions process for therapy cap exemptions to March 1 as well in the law, notes CMS in an overview of the legislation. “Outpatient therapy service providers may continue to submit claims with the KX modifier, when an exception is appropriate, for services furnished on [...]
Reader Question: Know What Constitutes ‘High Risk’ (January 2012)
Question: We have a 39-year-old patient who is asking for a routine screening of the colon, as some of his cousins and his uncle have been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Can this be billed under V16.0? Also, can you let me know the criteria for high risk screening under V76.51?Answer: For the screening to be billed under V16.0 (Family history of malignant neoplasm of gastrointestinal tract), the person should have a family history of first [...]
Part B Revenue Booster: ‘Follow-Up’ Is Not A Sufficient Chief Complaint (January 2012)
Improve Your E/M Payment Odds With These 5 Quick TipsMost practices report E/M codes every single day, but when you’re coding in a routine way, you might actually be in a coding rut. Ensure that you are submitting E/M services properly so you won’t spend time chasing denials or re-sending missing documentation. Check out the following five tips shared during the recent webinar, “E/M: Introducing the Guidelines,” presented on Jan. 18 by Palmetto GBA, a [...]
Hernia Coding: Mesh Coding Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult–If You Follow These 4 Steps (January 2012)
Modifier 22 is the choice for difficult removal during hernia repairMesh placement may be common during hernia repair, but you can only bill separately for the procedure in a minority of cases. Make sure you know what they are.1. Claim Placement With Incisional/Ventral HerniaYou may report separate placement of mesh (+49568, Implantation of mesh or other prosthesis for incisional or ventral hernia repair) only when the surgeon repairs an incisional or ventral hernia. Get the [...]
Clip And Save: Use This Chart to Select the Right Hernia Codes Every Time (January 2012)
Match the site to the documentation to choose the correct options.When it comes to hernia repair, the code choices can make your head spin. Get to know the specifics of hernia anatomy, and you won’t have to worry about how to differentiate the codes for epigastric vs. inguinal hernias, and so on. The following anatomy drawing and diagnosis coding chart can help you perfect your hernia claims.
Physician Note: Check Out What Your RACs Are Reviewing These Days (January 2012)
Plus: CMS clarifies 5010 advice.When the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) system first began, providers stayed very well-connected to the review issues, but as time passed, some practices stopped paying attention. However, RACs continue to add new issues to their target lists, and it’s incumbent upon you to keep track of the issues at hand.For example: DCS Healthcare, the RAC for seven states in the Northeast, announced on Jan. 6 that it is reviewing overpayments made [...]
