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Hello
House
passes economic recovery legislation, including HIT funding for practices
and new privacy restrictions
By
a 244-188 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives approved on Jan. 28 the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1) -- an $819 billion
economic stimulus package that contains more than $20 billion in health
information technology (HIT) funding. The bill would create an
incentive program for Medicare Part B providers that allocates thousands of
dollars for qualifying practices that implement electronic health records
(EHRs). To qualify for the incentive payments, physician practices
would have use a “certified” EHR in a
“meaningful”
way as well as report on quality measures. Medicare payments would
decrease starting in 2016 for practices that fail to adopt EHRs. The
legislation also changes privacy restrictions established by the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
The
Senate is expected to vote on similar legislation next week. The
Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) will update members on this
legislation.
Click
here
for the complete text of H.R. 1.
Click
here
for additional information.
Government
issues final rule mandating switch to ICD-10 code sets
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule
requiring the health care industry to adopt the International
Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification
(ICD-10-CM) for outpatient diagnoses codes, replacing ICD-9-CM.
Physician practices and others must begin submitting ICD-10-CM diagnoses
codes by Oct. 1, 2013.
Medical practices will have to:
• Update or replace practice management-system software
• Train clinical and administrative staff
• Review and modify organizational work flow
• Evaluate vendor, clearinghouse and health-plan contracts and data
requirements
• Develop appropriate processes and budgets to implement these new
requirements.
MGMA will offer resources to help members prepare for and implement
ICD-10-CM. MGMA will discuss these critical regulations in detail and
answer your questions in a March
5 Webinar.
Consult
billing confusion continues
Many
of you continue to have issues when billing for consults according to posts
in the MGMA Member Community. The issues center on definition of a consult
and how it differs from a new-patient visit. Some are also uncertain what
constitutes appropriate referrals and documentation for a consult.
To
learn the correct way to bill for consults, register for the Feb. 26
Webinar “Boost Revenue: Correctly Bill for a Consult,”, or call MGMA Government
Affairs toll-free 877.275.6462 ext. 1300, or e-mail MGMA.
Join the MGMA-moderated Federal Legislation Regulation and Red Tape Forum
Questions
about pending Medicare legislation? Can't quite get a handle on incident-to
billing rules? Wonder what’s going on with Medicare’s Physician Quality Reporting
Initiative? Wondering about the new FTC Red Flags rule? Ready for ICD-10?
Why does Medicare provider enrollment take so long?
For
the answers to these and other questions, join the online Medical Group
Management Association (MGMA) Federal Legislation Regulation and Red Tape
Forum. It’s moderated by the MGMA Government Affairs Department. You can
discuss health-care policy issues, ask questions about the impact of
federal legislation and regulations and stay informed on changes that might
affect your practice.
To
join this forum, visit mgma.com and select "Discussion Forums"
under "Member Community." You’ll find the Federal Legislation
Regulation and Red Tape Forum under the list of MGMA Expert-Moderated
Forums.
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Jan. 29, 2009
- House passes economic recovery legislation, including
HIT funding for practices and new privacy restrictions
- Government issues final rule mandating switch to ICD-10
code sets
- Consult billing confusion continues
- Join the MGMA-moderated Federal Legislation Regulation and
Red Tape Forum
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