This week’s Medicare updates include an announcement on expanded payments for at-home COVID-19 vaccinations, dates for implementation of the Prior Authorization Model for Repetitive, Scheduled Non-Emergent Ambulance Transports nationwide, an OIG review of phlebotomy travel allowances, and more!
As the country sees a resurgence of COVID-19 thanks to the delta variant, hospitals are seeing an increase not only in their immediate census numbers, but also in the number of readmissions.
To select the most specific CPT codes for prenatal care, physician coders must have a solid understanding of complex guidelines for reporting pregnancy-related office visits. Lori-Lynne A. Webb, CPC, CCS-P, CCP, CHDA, COBGC, unpacks services included in the global obstetric package and CPT coding for routine prenatal care.
CMS has reinstated the short-stay reviews and high-weighted DRG reviews originally halted in 2019. The national contract to conduct these reviews was awarded to Livanta, one of the Beneficiary & Family-Centered Care and Quality Improvement Organizations.
Review proposed updates to the CPT set for 2022, including new codes for chronic care management, laser interstitial thermal therapy, spinal anesthesia, and more.
Anna, a case manager who practices in a pulmonologist’s office, manages adult high-risk asthmatic patient care. The office serves more than 2,000 patients, which Anna learns is the upper range of average. She recently learned that the American Association for Physician Leadership believes that a physician’s office can successfully handle a volume of 3,000 patients.
