Notice of Preliminary Injunction Against Enforcement of Section 1557 Rule Provisions on Gender Identity and Termination of Pregnancy The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an opinion and order on December 31, 2016 in Franciscan Alliance, Inc. et al v. Burwell.  The order preliminarily enjoins HHS from enforcing, on a nationwide basis, the […]

New York State Minimum Weekly Salary Required for Exempt Employees Increases While the increase in the Federal minimum weekly salary for exempt employees has been put on hold, at least temporarily, New York State has enacted its own legislation on the matter. New wage orders, officially adopted by New York State on December 28, 2016, […]

OCR Warns of Phishing Attempts Disguised as Official HIPAA Audit Program Emails  What’s worse than receiving an email indicating that you have been selected for an audit by your favorite government regulator? Clicking on a link in the email and discovering that it is a phishing attack that has just compromised your computer and your […]

21st Century Cures Act Makes It Easier for Small Businesses to Offer HRAs – with No Excise Tax Congress has delivered a last-minute present to small business owners this holiday season in the form of the 21st Century Cures Act. This law, which got wide bipartisan support from both houses of Congress, gives small business owners a […]

HIPAA Security Risk Assessment The end of the year is quickly approaching and the Security Risk Assessment is not only necessary for Meaningful Use attestation but is also a required element to HIPAA Security. It is very important for practices to complete this assessment and also essential to understand what, why, and how to perform […]

MEDICARE TO CUT ANALOG X-RAY PAYMENTS STARTING IN 2017 As part of a push to nudge U.S. healthcare providers to adopt digital radiography (DR), the Medicare system will begin reducing payments for exams performed on analog x-ray systems starting in 2017. The year after that, sites using computed radiography (CR) equipment will also see payment […]

HHS Finalizes Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) On October 14, HHS finalized its policy implementing the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and the Advanced Alternative Payment Model (APM) incentive payment provisions in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), collectively referred to as the Quality Payment Program. The new Quality Payment Program […]

Foundation for Chiropractic Progress Opioid White Paper Record Downloads If you have yet to see the stats on our landmark white paper ‘Chiropractic: A Safer Strategy Than Opioids,’ get ready for a nice surprise; Over 1,628 Downloads! That’s a record for us and for the chiropractic profession. The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP), the only not-for-profit organization […]

Increased False Claims Act penalties effective August 1 As of August 1, 2016, False Claims Act civil penalties increase to between $10,781.40 and $21,562.80 per claim, plus three times the amount of damages that the federal government sustains because of the false claim. It is important to note that when False Claims Act penalties increase, […]

Nominations Open for Chiropractor of the Year & Practice Challenge Dear Breakthrough Coaching Member, Each year we honor the Chiropractor and Chiropractic Practice Team Member of the year at our November seminar in Orlando. We consider them the highest honors Breakthrough Coaching has to offer. This year we will hold our event at SeaWorld and […]

The 60 Day CMS Overpayment Rule On February 11, 2016, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the final overpayment rule commonly referred to as the “60 Day Rule”. Physicians, labs, hospitals, and other providers that receive reimbursement under Part A or B must comply with the 60 Day Rule or face penalties […]

May is National Correct Posture Month Correct Posture Month encourages people to think about how posture can affect their overall health. Posture refers to the position a person’s body is in while they are sitting or standing. Use theBreakthrough Coaching 7 Step Posture Check (Form M273) in your presentations and screenings to help improve referrals […]

SCOPE MODERNIZATION DISCUSSION DOCUMENT Dear New York Chiropractors, As the next stakeholder in this important process, the NYSCA is pleased to share this Scope Modernization Discussion Document and Draft with you, along with Frequently Asked Questions. The Scope Modernization committee welcomes your feedback, which can be submitted by emailing [email protected]. We hope to enhance the opportunities for chiropractic by […]

2016  Flexible Spending Account Deadline CONSUMERS who have a flexible health care spending account at work need to double-check their employer’s rules to see if they have an important deadline coming up. At many employers, March 15 is the end of a flexible spending account “grace period,” by which employees must spend money set aside […]

Clinical Practice Guideline: Chiropractic Care for Low Back Pain I want to make you aware of some exciting news! CCGPP’s Clinical Compass has just released its new guideline: CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINE: CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR LOW BACK PAIN. The publication can be viewed here. Here’s what Claire Johnson, Editor-in-Chief of JMPT, had to say about this […]

ACA Launches National Campaign for Medicare Equality The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has launched a national petition to generate support for expanded access to and reimbursement for chiropractic services for Medicare beneficiaries. The National Medicare Equality Petition is raising awareness of how the current Medicare system shortchanges seniors who want and need the essential services […]

The Merit-Based Incentive Payment System  Meaningful Use Is Not Dead: It’s Reincarnated Last year, the MACRA bill was signed into law and in the pages of minutiae and legal language, it was outlined what would happen to meaningful use. Basically, the PQRS (Physician Quality Reporting System) and MU would be joined into one and give […]

Stay Up to Date! New 2016 CPT® Codes CPT® has made some changes to a few commonly billed X-ray codes. According to CPT®, this includes “a new family of six bundled codes (73501-73503, 73521-73523) for hip and pelvis radiologic examination.” Also included are thoracolumbar procedures with four new codes (72081-72084). Find out which codes were deleted here.

Denials Reported on Bills by Sole Proprietors/Practitioners By the FCA Help Desk Some sole proprietors and some incorporated sole practitioners are reporting being denied reimbursement because they are not billing as a group (business) in field 33. Although an official explanation has not been obtained that describes what is occurring, this appears to involve the […]

On January 12, 2016, Microsoft is officially dropping support for all but the latest version of Internet Explorer. For a surprisingly high number of laggards, it’s time to upgrade or face a world of hurt. So what’s holding them back? Article is here: http://www.zdnet.com/article/whos-still-using-internet-explorer-and-why-wont-they-upgrade/?tag=nl.e539&s_cid=e539&ttag=e539&ftag=TRE17cfd61 If you are unsure of your version, when IE is open, click […]