CMS’ fiscal year (FY) 2020 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule, released April 23, includes a proposed increase to hospital payment rates, annual ICD-10-CM/PCS code update proposals, and significant changes to complication or comorbidity (CC)/major complication or comorbidity (MCC) and Medicare-Severity Diagnosis-Related Group (MS-DRG) designations.
Representatives from CMS and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) discussed hot topics and focus areas at HCCA's 2019 Compliance Institute in Boston, including developing interactive documentation checklists, potential changes to Stark Law this year, and methods to address the high rate of coding and documentation errors on inpatient rehabilitiation facility (IRF) claims.
The American Medical Association (AMA) and UnitedHealthcare announced a collaboration to better address social determinants of health (SDoH) by standardizing how this data is collected and processed through the creation of new ICD-10 codes related to SDoH.
Hospital coders must develop and adhere to internal E/M coding guidelines and CPT guidance to accurately report visits to the ED. In addition, because ED coding encompasses professional and facility billing, they may need to scour provider documentation to determine the correct E/M service level for both bill types.