CMS recently released MLN Matters SE18001 to provide healthcare practitioners with instructions and coding guidance for specimen validity when performed and billed in combination with drug testing. The article was issued to remind laboratories and other providers performing urine drug testing that specimen validity testing (SVT) is not separately billable.
Providers should be preparing for another rulemaking cycle from CMS as we hit April, with the IPPS rule expected to include a discussion on how the existing payment system can address new and emerging cellular and gene therapies.
In today’s uncertain regulatory environment, establishing an internal audit process is more important than ever to ensure proper billing and reimbursement. Follow these eight steps to establish an efficient internal audit and compliance program.
This week’s Medicare updates include an advisory opinion on whether an excluded individual could be employed by an entity involved in federal healthcare programs; a pair of fact sheets on the cost and advancing care information performance category policies for MIPS in 2018; a video for medical offices on the new Medicare cards; and more!
In the current healthcare climate, the issue of medical necessity documentation, or lack thereof, is one of the most common reasons for claim denials. For a service to be considered medically necessary (by a third-party payer), it must be considered a reasonable and necessary service to diagnose and/or treat a patient’s current and/or chronic medical condition.
