2020 YEAR END REMINDERS FOR CHIROPRACTORS
Although the list below is not exhaustive, it does contain many of the critical deadlines and vital tasks for the end of 2020. Please take a moment to ensure you have all your bases covered.
NEW E&M CODE SELECTION RULES:
Effective January 1, 2021, practitioners will have the choice to document office/outpatient E/M visits via medical decision making (MDM) or time. CMS is adopting the CPT’s revised guidance, including deletion of CPT code 99201. Watch BTC AVM 606G – Mastering the 2021 Evaluation & Management Coding Changes in the Coding & Reimbursement Classroom.
NEW ABN FORM:
HHS has released a NEW ABN form for Medicare Part B and it becomes mandatory on January 1, 2021. Please verify you are utilizing the correct ABN.
MEDICAL CORPORATIONS, PROFESSIONAL SERVICE CORPORATIONS & PROFESSIONAL LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES:
When was the last time that you renewed your entity registration? If you are not certain, you should check to ensure that it is not expired. MANY chiropractic physicians have missed this step (both the original registration and the renewal) with their business entities and are out of compliance.
Even though a few properly registered or renewed since 2019, significant problems could arise for those entities that were not properly renewed (or even registered) in the past. Therefore, any corporate or PLLC license that was previously nonrenewed remains in nonrenewed status, risking challenges to your reimbursements and payments.
FEE SCHEDULES:
Obtain revised fee schedules from insurance carriers and update reimbursement changes in your billing systems. However, please know that the recently released Medicare fee schedule MAY change if Congress takes action on the draconian cuts.
EMPLOYEE SEXUAL HARASSMENT PREVENTION TRAINING:
Have you and your employees taken a sexual harassment prevention training course? If not, then you should all watch BTC AVM 507 Sexual Harassment Prevention Training in the Admin Classroom under Human Resources.
MEDICARE PARTICIPATION:
Any changes to your Medicare participation must be made by January 31, 2021. Physicians who want to change their status from participating to non-participating must do so by that date. Here is the link to PECOS, which is the best way to modify your participation status. If you are not changing your participation status, then do nothing. The extended deadline to January happened due to the late release of the 2021 fee schedule.
CONTRACT REVIEW:
Review your PPO contracts and insurance company medical policies. Now is a great time to take an inventory of the specific provisions in the contracts you have signed that affect your everyday office operations. Additionally, BTC encourages our Members to review insurance company medical policies regularly. Many of these policies are available online and are searchable by CPT code and diagnosis code. Knowing exactly the terms to which you have agreed is paramount to a successful practice.
HEALTH INSURANCE QUOTES:
Don’t simply accept the premium increase you may have received from your health insurance carrier. Talk to your agent to determine if there is a similar plan or a different health insurer with more competitive rates.
CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS:
If you are determining where to make your last-minute charitable donations for 2020, ChiroCongress Cares and the Foundation for Chiropractic Education (501c3 sister of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress) are both worth considering.
