On ICD-10 Release Date, CMS Says Four States Exempt On Oct. 1, the ICD-10 release date, four states’ Medicaid programs will not be converting to ICD-10 codes, according to CMS. Everyone else, however, will. California, Maryland, Montana and Louisiana “are the only states that have programmed the backwards crosswalk into their claims processing systems for their […]

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? 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 […]

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 […]

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 This legislation permanently repealed the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, the reason for the endless cycle of “doc fixes” that have temporarily staved off 17 drastic Medicare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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

On April 1, 2015, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) was updated using the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) methodology as required by current law. The SGR methodology required a 21% decrease in all MPFS payments beginning April 1, 2015. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took steps to limit the impact on Medicare […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. 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 […]

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 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 […]

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 to urge providers to begin attesting for 2014 as soon […]