HEALTHCARE NEWS
Stay Informed: Latest Updates and Insights in Healthcare!
Final date for the implementation of ICD 10 would be moved forward.
5/6/2012
As part of President Obama’s commitment to reducing regulatory burden, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen G. Sebelius today announced that HHS will initiate a process to postpone the date by which certain health care entities have to comply with International Classification of Diseas...
Medicare Physician Fee Schedule 2012 update.
5/6/2012
The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 (H.R. 3765) signed by President Obama on December 23, 2011, provides for a 60-day delay in the 27.4% cut in Medicare physician reimbursement scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2012. Despite the “delay”, your fee schedule wil...
Blue Shield pays $2M to settle recession case
5/6/2012
Blue Shield of California is paying $2 million to settle allegations that it improperly stopped covering members when they became sick and required expensive treatment.
The insurer decided to settle a 2008 suit, in which the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office alleged Blue Shield's recession prac...
Open Meetings for Local Coverage Determinations
5/6/2012
INTERNET - 9/8/2011In accordance with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) directive to include information and opinions from members of the general public as part of the local coverage determination (LCD) process, National Government Services will host open, public meetings at whi...
Reminder: Technical Component of Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Accreditation Requirements Effective Sunday, January 1, 2012
5/6/2012
National Government Services 01/04/12Suppliers of the technical component of Advanced Diagnostic Imaging that are billing with a service date on or after Sunday, January 1, 2012, must evidence an active accreditation date for diagnostic imaging of current procedural terminology (CPT) codes attached ...
Medicare Updates Hep B Admin Code Guidance
5/6/2012
Effective for claims processed with dates of service on or after Jan. 1, 2011, Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) providers should report HCPCS Level II code G0010 Administration of hepatitis b vaccine for the administration of hepatitis b vaccine, rather than CPT® 90471 Immunization ...
Horizon Medicare Blue TotalCare (HMO SNP)
5/6/2012
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield. January 1, 2012
Effective January 1, 2012, Horizon Healthcare of New Jersey, Inc. will offer a Special Needs Plan (SNP), Horizon Medicare Blue Total Care (HMO SNP),
to New Jersey residents who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid coverage.
This $0 p...
Deactivation of Clinical Education E-Mail Box and Telephone Line
5/6/2012
National Government Services12/28/11 National Government Services will deactivate the telephone line and e-mail box that are currently used for Clinical Education effective July 1, 2011. Providers who direct messages to this e-mail box or phone line on or after July 1 will not receive a r...
New out-of-state national account groups effective January 1, 2012
5/6/2012
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Beginning January 1, 2012, physicians, other health care professionals and facilities that participate in the Horizon Managed Care Network may see patients, who are New Jersey residents, enrolled in several new out-of-state national account groups....
Kaiser pays cash when members lose weight
5/6/2012
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente of Colorado hopes a new incentive--cold, hard cash--will motivate people to lose weight. Although other insurers have offered similar programs, Kaiser is one of the first to make a weight loss program available to all adult members, the Associated...
Aetna buys popular mobile app iTriage maker for ACO
5/6/2012
Aetna
Aetna buys popular mobile app iTriage maker for ACO, which provides information about medical issues and finds nearby providers or health facilities.
"We're going to begin to change the healthcare industry by giving people tools they can put in the palm of their hand,&...
27.4% cut has been postponed by Medicare for 10 months
5/6/2012
Congress passed a bill to delay a scheduled 27% cut in Medicare payments by 10 months, and the president released his 2013 proposed budget, which requests a slight increase for health programs.
Congress Passes SGR Deal
The House of Representatives voted 293-132 late Friday morning to pass a ...
CMS proposes coverage for obesity counseling in seniors
5/6/2012
MEDPAGE TODAY - 9/8/2011The CMS is proposing to offer coverage for behavior modification and weight-loss counseling among older, highly obese Medicare patients. The counseling will involve a weekly primary care office visit in the first month, one office visit every other week in the second to sixth...
Upcoming Medical Record Audits for 2012
5/6/2012
Adequate and proper medical documentation is essential for quality medical care. We conduct audits to review practitioner documentation and ensure compliance with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) regulatory requirements and to meet Nat...
Harvard Pilgrim pays members to use cheaper treatments
5/6/2012
Massachusetts-based Harvard Pilgrim has started paying patients $10 to $75 each time they get medical tests at a lower cost provider.
Under Harvard Pilgrim's SaveOn program, when members get referrals from their doctors, they can call the insurer's "clinical concierge" line that directs ...