Friday, February 24, 2012
Our Agenda is NOW POSTED for the 2012 FORUM!!!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
AHRQ Announces Free TeamSTEPPS Training Opportunities
To subscribe to email updates from AHRQ click the Subscriber Preferences Page.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Opportunity to Become a Grant Reviewer for Colorado Rural Health Care Grant Program
Eligibility to be a Reviewer
Individuals who are submitting an application for this grant program this year or who are employed by or on the board of directors of an applicant organization are not eligible to serve as reviewers. We are looking for both urban and rural reviewers. While reviewers will be assigned applications outside their geographic region, they are still expected to notify CRHC – prior to conducting their reviews – if they have a conflict of interest with any application assigned to them.
Time Commitment
Each reviewer will be assigned between five and ten applications, depending upon the number of applications received and the number of reviewers who volunteer. It is expected that each application will take approximately an hour to review and score. Participation as a reviewer will not require travel. Instructions, score sheets, and the assigned applications will be sent to reviewers electronically. Reviewers will then score the applications and return the score sheets electronically.
Reviewers will be sent their applications to review by March 23. Reviewers will have between March 23 and April 13 to complete their reviews.
Interested?
Please contact Shelly Collings at 720.248.2742, 800.851.6782, or sc@coruralhealth.org. You will need to submit the following information: Name (first, middle initial, and last), county, organization (if applicable), email address, and phone number(s).
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Proposed Cuts to CAHs in President’s Budget
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Medication Adherence Is Important
Nearly three out of four Americans report that they do not always take their medicine as directed. Some never fill their prescriptions or don’t follow the instructions – skipping doses or stopping the
medicine early. When people don’t adhere to their medications, especially if they suffer chronic conditions, serious health consequences and significant costs can result. For those without healthcare coverage, medication adherence is particularly challenging, and even more so in a tough economy.
Fortunately, resources are available that can help uninsured individuals save money on their prescriptions so they can manage chronic conditions and, in doing so, better manage overall healthcare costs.
Together Rx Access®, a free program sponsored by many of the nation’s leading pharmaceutical companies, provides eligible individuals and families with immediate and meaningful savings on prescription products right at their neighborhood pharmacies.
Visit TogetherRxAccess.com to learn more. Additional information and other resources are also available to you in our Resources for Professionals.
Registration Deadline Approaching for First Time CAH Users of Hospital Compare
CRHC Regional CAH Workshops
May 1, 2012– Location: Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital, Burlington, CO
CAH Quality Improvement Workshop – 9:00am-3:00pm
CAH Board Workshop – 4:00pm-7:30pm
May 3, 2012– Location: Rio Grande Hospital, Del Norte, CO
CAH Quality Improvement Workshop – 9:00am-3:00pm
CAH Board Workshop – 4:00pm-7:30pm
May 10, 2012– Location: Grand River Hospital and Medical Center, Rifle, CO
CAH Quality Improvement Workshop – 9:00am-3:00pm
CAH Board Workshop – 4:00pm-7:30pm
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Rural Provider Opportunity to Let Your Voice be Heard!!
Physical Therapist Assistants Certification
National Medicare Training Program Webinar - Save the date!
Join the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) National Medicare Training Program (NMTP) monthly webinar. Get the most up-to-date program information for professionals and volunteers who work with seniors and people with disabilities. Topics include: Overview of Accountable Care Organizations, Million Hearts Initiative, 2012 Federal Poverty Levels and Dual Eligibility Standards, Preview of new Medicare Summary Notice.
Call-In Number: (800) 603-1774l; Conference ID: 38927535; Webinar: register here
Monday, February 13, 2012
All Medicare Provider and Supplier Payments To Be Made By Electronic Funds Transfer
For more information about provider enrollment revalidation, review the Medicare Learning Network’s Special Edition Article #SE1126, titled “Further Details on the Revalidation of Provider Enrollment Information.”
Revised CMS Swing Bed Fact Sheet
CAHs Encouraged to Participate in MBQIP
Friday, February 10, 2012
Version 5010 – Where Are We Now?
- Current conversion statistics
- Top 10 concerns impacting the 5010 transition
- Status of current Version 5010 Standard System Maintainer fixes
- Top 10 Version 5010 edits
- Medicaid update
- Resources and contact information
Free TeamSTEPPS Patient Safety Training
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Commentary: Payment Cuts to Critical Access Hospitals 'Inevitable'
By: John Commins, for HealthLeaders Media, February 8, 2012
Many rural hospital leaders lack contingency plans for what one expert in healthcare strategy calls an inevitability—Medicare critical access funding cuts within the next three years.
More Analysis
Last Chance to Apply for Colorado Rural Health Care Grant Program!
Important Application Dates
Applications Due: Noon February 15, 2012
Notification of Grant Awards: June 2012
More Information
Read more about this funding opportunity
Fill out an Intent to Apply form
Download the grant guidance
Download the application
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
130 - Charges Imposed by Immediate Relatives of the Patient or Members of the Patient’s Household
These are expenses that constitute charges by immediate relatives of the beneficiary or by members of their household. The intent of this exclusion is to bar Medicare payment for items and services that would ordinarily be furnished gratuitously because of the relationship of the beneficiary to the person imposing the charge. This exclusion applies to items and services rendered by providers to immediate relatives of the owner(s) of the provider. It also applies to services rendered by physicians to their immediate relatives and items furnished by suppliers to immediate relatives of the owner(s) of the supplier.
B. Immediate Relative
The following degrees of relationship are included within the definition of immediate relative.
Husband and wife;
Natural or adoptive parent, child, and sibling;
Stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother, and stepsister;
Father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law;
Grandparent and grandchild; and
Spouse of grandparent and grandchild.
For more information and please see Section 130
Job Posting for Billing Specialist
Upcoming CRHC CAH Webinars
Utilization Management for CAHs – February 28, 2012
CAH Swing Beds Part I – March 20, 2012
CAH Swing Beds Part II – April 3, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
QHi Benchmarking Tool – Back to Basics Webinar
Medicare System to Include ‘Rendering Provider’ Field to Allow Correct Physician NPI Reporting for PCIP for CAHs Reimbursed Under Optional Method
Monday, February 6, 2012
OSHA Respiratory Protection Videos
CAH Conditions of Participation
Determining Eligibility for the Medicare HPSA Physician Bonus Payment
Information on the HPSA bonus, including the list of zip codes eligible for automatic payment, can be found at on the CMS website here.
Two MLN Matters articles are available which go into further detail:
“2012 Annual Update for the HPSA Bonus Payments” (MM7517): here and
“HPSA Bonus Payment Policy Reminders” (SE1202): here.
Websites to help determine existing designations and eligibility for the Medicare HPSA physician bonus include: HPSA Find – to identify designations within a state,
FFIEC– to identify census tracts by entering an address, and
Data Warehouse HPSA– to see if an area is listed as being in an eligible area.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Multiple Procedure Payment Reduction for Physician Services for Certain Diagnostic Imaging Procedures in CAHs
CMS Rural Health Open Door Forum
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Register Now for the ICD 10 - Keys to Successful Transition Workshop near you
- February 22nd in Rifle, Colorado
- February 23rd in Yuma, Colorado
- March 27th in Alamosa, Colorado
- March 28th in Lamar, Colorado
2012 Colorado Rural Credentialing Network – Register Today!
Utilization Management for CAHs – Webinar
Join CRHC for this webinar on Utilization Management (UM) and Utilization Review (UR) for CAHs. All hospitals, including CAHs, must have a UM/UR Plan that describes the process used to review all services provided by the institution and by the members of the medical staff. In addition to assuring optimal healthcare delivery and positive patient outcomes, sound UM/UR practices are integral to achieving successful results during activities such as RAC audits. During this webinar, experts from the Joffit Group, will discuss the components involved in setting up an efficient UM/UR process and will review CRHC's Utilization Management Resource for Critical Access Hospitals: a concise, easy-to-use tool for hospital providers and staff that explains the role of UM/UR in various CAH settings including: Inpatient, Outpatient, Observation, and Swing Bed. This webinar is FREE for all CRHC-member Colorado CAHs; $79 for all non-member Colorado CAHs, and $99 for all others. For more information click here.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Register Now for the 2012 Forum - Essential Perspectives for the Safety Net Providers
New Policy Brief from the Flex Monitoring Team: Relevant Quality Measures for CAHs
The Flex Monitoring Team is pleased to announce the release of a new Policy Brief on rural relevant quality measures for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). The purpose of this study is to provide rural health care providers and policymakers with an up-to-date set of relevant quality measures for CAHs.
Relevant Quality Measures for Critical Access Hospitals
Key Findings:
A comprehensive set of quality measures are relevant for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), including measures addressing appropriate care for inpatients with specific medical conditions, global measures addressing appropriate care across multiple medical conditions, and Emergency Department measures.
Although CAHs have low volumes of patients for some measures, the measures are relevant because they address serious conditions, are based on strong evidence, and reflect the standard of care that all hospitals should aim to provide for every patient.
Many relevant quality measures are now ready for reporting. Other measures need specifications to be finalized and/or a data reporting mechanism to be established; these could be reported starting in January 2013.
It would significantly reduce the reporting burden for CAHs if all entities involved in regulation, accreditation, and payment would agree to accept a single set of quality measures with common specifications. Implementation of a common set of CAH quality measures and a unified data reporting structure will require coordinated actions by multiple organizations.
To motivate improvement in the quality of careand help patients make informed decisions in selecting health care providers, all CAHs should publicly report on relevant quality measures.
For more information, contact Michelle Casey, mcasey@umn.edu
Update to the Primary Care Incentive Payment Program for Critical Access Hospital Providers Paid Under Optional Method
After further research, CMS has determined that, in addition to reporting the NPI in loop 2310C, CAH providers will need to report the same NPI as well as the information that is required in loop 2310B defined as “operating physician.” This will ensure CAH claims submitted using the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC X12) version 5010A2 will continue to receive their PCIP bonus without any interruption.
Change Request 7686 has been created and will be implemented by contractors to update the Medicare systems to assign the PCIP bonus payments based on the NPI from loop 2310D, “rendering physician.” However, until the successful implementation of CR7686 – expected to take place in July – the reporting of the NPI for the PCIP bonus payments should continue as described above.