The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has identified a claim processing problem impacting Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) type of bills 18x and 21x containing Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code AAAxx and Revenue Code 0022. We are holding these claims. As soon as a system fix is in place and successfully tested, these claims will be released for processing. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Payment of the Enrollment Application Fee for Institutional Providers
Institutional providers (i.e., all providers except physicians, non-physicians practitioners, physician group practices, and non-physician practitioner group practices) must submit the application fee with their revalidation or other enrollment actions. Institutional providers that submit enrollment actions using internet-based Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) pay the application fee during the online submission process.
Providers which submit the paper 855 will now pay the fee at https://pecos.CMS.hhs.gov/pecos/feePaymentWelcome.do.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Save The Date for the 2012 Annual Forum: Essential Perspectives for Safety Net Providers!!!
The Colorado Rural Health Center and ClinicNET will be co-hosting our annual 2012 Annual Forum in Denver, CO on April 11th, 12th, and 13th, 2012. This year we are very excited to host this event at the Denver Sheraton West Hotel located just minutes from downtown Denver. Please stay tuned for more details as they unfold and mark your calendars NOW for this educational opportunity and to network with other rural communities in Colorado.
Annual CRHC CAH Workshop – Register Today!
November 3-4, 2011CRHC’s Annual CAH Workshop will take place on November 3-4, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center. This meeting is geared towards CAH CEO’s, CFO’s, and Quality Directors and all CAHs are invited to attend. This annual meeting provides participants the opportunity to discuss key accomplishments and goals, get updates on issues affecting Colorado’s CAHs, and provide input on CRHC’s programs and services for CAHs. This year’s agenda includes half-day CAH Cost Reporting/Financial Analysis and QI sessions on November 3 along with Roundtable Discussion, Policy and Legislative Update, CAH Roles in Building Healthy Communities, and CAH Strategic Priorities discussions on November 4. There is no fee for CAH staff to attend. Additionally, CRHC will pay for one night’s lodging for three staff from each CAH and up to $150 in mileage reimbursement per CAH. The CRHC room block at they Hyatt has been extended. Take advantage of the group rate and make your hotel reservations before they’re gone. The workshop registration deadline is October 28. For more information and to register, click here.
ICD 10 Billing & Coding Webinar - November 10th!! Register NOW!!
Thursday November 10th from 9am - 12pm MT
Susan Whitney with R.T. Welter & Associates, Inc. will be leading a webinar on ICD 10 Billing & Coding. Participants will learn about ICD 10 Documentation as well as Billing & Coding updates. Susan will identify practical ways to be proactively prepared for the future and discuss the November Coding Bootcamps scheduled around the state. This educational activity is geared towards clinicians, billing and coding staff at rural hospitals and clinics. Registration is now open for this educational opportunity provided by CRHC and RT Welter and Associates. For more information and to register please contact Courtnay Ryan at cr@coruralhealth.org or by phone at 303.309.6807. Don't miss out, register today!! All healthcare providers, particularly physicians, are invited to attend.
Susan Whitney with R.T. Welter & Associates, Inc. will be leading a webinar on ICD 10 Billing & Coding. Participants will learn about ICD 10 Documentation as well as Billing & Coding updates. Susan will identify practical ways to be proactively prepared for the future and discuss the November Coding Bootcamps scheduled around the state. This educational activity is geared towards clinicians, billing and coding staff at rural hospitals and clinics. Registration is now open for this educational opportunity provided by CRHC and RT Welter and Associates. For more information and to register please contact Courtnay Ryan at cr@coruralhealth.org or by phone at 303.309.6807. Don't miss out, register today!! All healthcare providers, particularly physicians, are invited to attend.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
QHi Benchmarking Tool – Back to Basics Webinar
The next QHi Benchmarking Tool Back to Basics webinar will be on November 10, 2011 from 1:00-2:00 MST. During this webinar QHi will walk through the fundamentals of using the system. QHi is an online benchmarking tool geared towards CAHs and is available to all Colorado CAHs at no charge. For more information contact Jen Dunn at jd@coruralhealth.org.
Reduced Medicare Regulatory Burdens for Healthcare Providers Would Save Nearly $1.1 Billion.
On October 18, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took steps to reduce unnecessary, obsolete, or burdensome regulations on American hospitals and healthcare providers. These steps would help achieve the key goal of President Obama’s regulatory reform initiative to reduce unnecessary burdens on business and would save nearly $1.1 billion across the health care system in the first year for a total of over $5 billion over 5 years. CMS proposed two sets of regulatory reforms today, and finalized a third. All are designed to improve transparency and help providers operate more efficiently by reducing their regulatory burden. One set proposes updates to the Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs). The second set addresses regulatory requirements for a broader range of health care providers and suppliers who are regulated under Medicare and Medicaid. CMS also finalized a third rule reducing regulatory burden for ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs).
CMS estimates that annual savings to hospitals from the proposed revisions to the Conditions of Participation could exceed $900 million in its first year as hospitals increasingly use this new flexibility. The Medicare Regulatory Reform rule could save up to $200 million in the first year. The final rule for ASCs could generate an extra $50 million in savings per year.
Taken together, these three rules would reduce hospital and other healthcare provider costs by nearly $1.1 billion the first year. These cost savings would come directly from reduced regulatory burdens, and are not accompanied by reimbursement reductions. As such, all of these savings would be available to help providers improve the quality of care they provide to Medicare beneficiaries and all Americans.
To view the proposed rules please click here.
CMS estimates that annual savings to hospitals from the proposed revisions to the Conditions of Participation could exceed $900 million in its first year as hospitals increasingly use this new flexibility. The Medicare Regulatory Reform rule could save up to $200 million in the first year. The final rule for ASCs could generate an extra $50 million in savings per year.
Taken together, these three rules would reduce hospital and other healthcare provider costs by nearly $1.1 billion the first year. These cost savings would come directly from reduced regulatory burdens, and are not accompanied by reimbursement reductions. As such, all of these savings would be available to help providers improve the quality of care they provide to Medicare beneficiaries and all Americans.
To view the proposed rules please click here.
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