Author Archives: Mark Sanna
F4CP Aligns with National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association
Foundation for Chiropractic Progress Aligns with National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association, Participates at Inaugural Conference: Treating and Preventing Chronic Pain Treating and Preventing (TAP) Chronic Pain Conference, Arlington, Virginia, October 8-10, 2015 CARMICHAEL, Calif. – September 03, 2015 – The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the value of chiropractic care, is pleased […]
Florida Doctors: TENS units-Do I need a license?
Florida Doctors: TENS units-Do I need a license? Many doctors have asked me if they need a special license to bill DME units like a TENS unit. The short answer is– YES, you do need a license. Most insurance companies are starting to catch on to this special license and they are denying DME (Durable […]
Legislative Action Alert
Earlier this year, four separate pieces of legislation were introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and one in the U.S. Senate that would expand patient access to the services provided by doctors of chiropractic in several federal health care delivery systems. It is very important that doctors of chiropractic and chiropractic students immediately contact their […]
Open Letter to the Chiropractic Profession:
On April 16, President Obama signed into law House Resolution 2, known as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015. This legislation permanently repealed the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, the reason for the endless cycle of “doc fixes” that have temporarily staved off 17 drastic Medicare reimbursement cuts since 2003. However, the new […]
REMINDER – IMPORTANT UPDATE ON THE 2015 MEDICARE CONVERSION FACTOR
On July 1, the Medicare Conversion Factor goes up by 0.5% which will impact the Medicare allowed amount by some degree. Keep in mind that the CF is only one of the factors used in the calculation of the Medicare allowed – but it should have a positive impact for chiropractic physicians — a slight payment […]
Is Your Practice ‘Banking’ on an ICD-10 Delay?
Since April 2015, three proposed bills have been submitted regarding some facet of the current ICD-10 transition. What are the odds of a bill to simply eliminate ICD-10 passing? Or legislation requiring HHS to conduct “comprehensive, end-to-end testing to assess whether Medicare claims based on the ICD-10 standard is fully functioning? In addition, we have heard chatter that a bill creating […]
The Growing Role of Doctors of Chiropractic in On-site Corporate Health Clinics Foundation for Chiropractic Progress Publishes a Landmark Position Paper
Great News!! The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) recently shared a press release with the FCA, announcing the publication of its latest position paper entitled: “The Growing Role of Doctors of Chiropractic in Corporate On-Site Clinics.” The paper reviews current industry trends, and articulates the role of chiropractic care to optimize clinical and financial management […]
Obama Signs “Doc Fix” Bill, Changing Medicare Payments to Doctors
President Obama signed legislation this month that will permanently change how Medicare pays doctors, a rare bipartisan achievement by Democrats and Republicans that will end years of short-term fixes. The bill, known as the “doc fix,” overhauls a 1997 law that aimed to slow Medicare’s growth by limiting reimbursements to doctors. It resulted in a […]
Senate Clears Legislation to Prevent Medicare Payment Cuts
Chiropractic documentation education, new quality-reporting incentives included in measure Arlington, Va. – The U.S. Senate, following the earlier lead of the House, late last night passed a long-awaited “permanent fix” to the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula used to determine provider reimbursement levels under the federal Medicare program. The plan would give physicians treating Medicare patients, […]
Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model
The CMS Innovation Center has announced a new ACO model: the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model of payment and care delivery, which they state “offers a new opportunity in accountable care—one that sets predictable financial targets, enables providers and beneficiaries greater opportunities to coordinate care, and aims to attain the highest quality standards […]
BREAKING: Providers can’t sue state Medicaid agencies over rates, Supreme Court rules
Private healthcare providers cannot sue state Medicaid agencies over low reimbursement rates, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Tuesday in a 5-4 decision (PDF), reversing a lower court’s ruling. Providers had argued in a case, Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center Inc., that suing over low rates is sometimes the only way to enforce federal payment requirements. Otherwise, low rates could lead to fewer providers […]
‘Doc fix’ bill would overhaul health IT policy, too
The bill introduced Thursday to replace Medicare’s sustainable growth-rate formula for physician pay would also significantly alter federal policy on health information technology. Lawmakers avoided making any changes to the timeline for requiring the industry to switch to ICD-10 diagnostic and procedure codes. Last year’s temporary “doc fix” included a stealthily added delay of the conversion.But the legislation’s merit-based incentive payment […]
Special Action Bulletin
Congress needs to enact legislation that will permanently repeal the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula before the March 31, 2015 deadline. Medicare Part B providers of all types, including doctors of chiropractic, will face devastating cuts to the payment rates if action is not taken. These payment cuts will also impact patients by threatening their ability […]
CCGPP Low Back Pain Consensus Guideline Comment Period Open
The Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practice Parameters has updated their guideline so it can be placed on the National Guidelines Clearinghouse site. This is very important for our profession to ensure that stakeholders that don’t have our best interest at heart are not using bogus guidelines to restrict care/access, and to ultimately help providers […]
New EHR Attestation Deadline for Medicare Eligible Professionals: March 20, 2015
New EHR Attestation Deadline for Medicare Eligible Professionals: March 20, 2015. Eligible professionals now have until 11:59 pm ET on March 20, 2015, to attest to meaningful use for the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program 2014 reporting year. CMS extended the deadline to allow providers extra time to submit their meaningful use data. CMS continues […]
100 medical societies warn about possible ICD-10 problems
By Joseph Conn | March 4, 2015 Modern Healthcare The American Medical Association and 99 other state medical, medical specialty and professional associations are asking CMS acting Administrator Andrew Slavitt to have the agency improve transition plans for the Oct. 1 conversion to ICD-10 diagnostic and procedural codes.“By itself, the implementation of ICD-10 is a massive undertaking,” the AMA and […]
CMS Updates Additional Documentation Request Time Frame as of April 1, 2015
CMS recently published an update regarding the time frame for responding to pre-payment review Additional Documentation Requests (ADRs). Effective April 1, 2015, when a provider receives a pre-payment review ADR from a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) or Zone Program Integrity Contractor (ZPIC), the provider will now have 45 calendar days to respond and supply the requested […]
Lawmakers Oppose Delaying October 2015 Rollout for ICD-10
No further delays should occur in implementing the ICD-10 coding system for Medicare payments, said legislators from both sides of the aisle during a congressional hearing Wednesday. Six of seven healthcare officials who testified agreed. The lone dissenter was a doctor concerned that most private practice physicians are simply not prepared. The switch to new diagnostic and procedural […]
2015 PQRS Remittance Advice/EOB Code Clarifications
N620 If you billed the PQRS codes with $0.00. It has also replaced the N365 code. CO 246 N572 code: If you billed the PQRS codes with $0.01 correctly. N365 has been deactivated. Each QDC line-item will be listed with the N365 denial remark code. Claim Adjustment Reason Code CARC 246 with Group Code CO […]
Future Health Meaningful Use Update
***There is important information included in the message below. Please take the time to review it thoroughly.*** Future Health is happy to announce two updates regarding Meaningful Use reporting. The CQM scorecard has been released to several clinics as part of the final testing process and should be available to all clinics next week. We […]