As of October 1, approximately 1,080 cases of respiratory illnesses and 18 deaths brought on by vaping have been reported in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Despite continued research into these cases by the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the specific cause of these illnesses remains unknown.
CMS is moving forward with multiple policies—effectively based on reducing reimbursement to hospitals—that have been deemed unlawful in court, according to the 2020 OPPS final rule, released Friday, November 1. However, the agency pushed its controversial price transparency proposals to a separate, yet-to-be released final rule.
The 2020 IPPS final rule introduced several MS-DRG changes within Major Diagnostic Category 8, effective October 1, which could affect reimbursement for certain orthopedic infections, neuromuscular scoliosis, secondary scoliosis and kyphosis.
As Medicare Advantage makes strides to becoming the new norm, organizations need to establish new processes, educate staff, and advocate for patients. Learn how your organization can keep pace with change before it’s too late to catch up.
A retrospective study based on ICD-10-CM data from 16,884 emergency department (ED) visits found that individuals who received emergency medical care due to cannabis poisoning were substantially more likely than other patients to experience mental health disorders.
Approximately 25% of the $3.8 trillion spent annually in the U.S. on healthcare can be characterized as waste, according to an analysis recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Managers should not assume that they can review every guideline, every item in Coding Clinic, or every coding-related issue targeted by the OIG or Recovery Auditors. However, those issues that have been identified as the result of denials, external coding audits, or quality initiatives should surface to the top of the audit list for the coding manager.
CMS recently announced that it is accepting comments until November 29 on a proposal to collect acquisition cost data from hospitals participating in the 340B drug discount program.
