From: Jurisdiction B DME MAC <dmemaclistserve@anthem.com>
To: debra@billpro.net
Date: 05/19/2014 03:30 PM
Subject: Jurisdiction B Tip of the Week – Billing Reminder on Therapeutic Shoes for Persons with Diabetes

    Therapeutic Shoes for Persons with Diabetes
   

Jurisdiction B Tip of the Week - Billing Reminder on Therapeutic Shoes for Persons with Diabetes

Are you a supplier of therapeutic shoes for persons with diabetes? If so, remember modifier LT (left) or RT (right) must be appended to claims for shoes, inserts, or modifications. When a pair is provided on the same date of service, submit the claim with the LT and RT modifiers on the same claim line and report two units of service for that claim line. Remember that claim lines submitted without a required LT and/or RT will be rejected.   
   
Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
5-20-14

Please see the e-mail below from Ohio Medicaid  received yesterday.  Buckeye, Caresource and United Healthcare are the 3 Medicaid Managed Care Plans servicing the Northeast Ohio Area with the MyCare Ohio plan

Please bookmark the following Medicaid website to learn more about MyCare Ohio:  Integrating Medicare and Medicaid Benefits

http://www.medicaid.ohio.gov/PROVIDERS/ManagedCare/IntegratingMedicareandMedicaidBenefits.aspx

Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
5-13-14


        From: DAS-EDI-SUPPORT
        To: BILLPRO MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS [mailto:peggy@billpro.net]
        Sent: Mon, 12 May 2014 14:31:48 -0500
        Subject: CORRECTION ON BANNER 162, PHONE NUMBERS

        NOTICE: If you serve dual eligible (Medicare-Medicaid) consumers enrolled in Passport, Choices, Assisted Living, Ohio Home Care and Transitions Carve-Out waivers, you can continue to provide authorized services to these consumers if they are enrolled in the MyCare Ohio Managed Care program. Plans must continue to pay current waiver services providers at Medicaid rates for a transition period after enrollment in MyCare Ohio. MyCare Ohio will enroll dual eligible consumers in 29 Ohio counties beginning in May 2014. The MITS portal will document MyCare Ohio managed care enrollment.

         

        If you have questions about serving a MyCare Ohio member, contact the plan in which your consumer is enrolled at the following Provider Services numbers:

        Aetna 1-855-364-0974

        Buckeye 1-866-296-8731

        CareSource 1-800-488-0134

        Molina 1-855-655-4623

        United Health Care 1-800-600-9007

         

         

        DAS-EDI-Support
        614-387-1212
        DAS-EDI-SUPPORT@das.ohio.gov

Below is an e-mail from CMS titled "CMS NEWS: Reforms of regulatory requirements to save health care providers $660 million annually."

Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
5-8-14

From: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services <cmslists@subscriptions.cms.hhs.gov>
To: debra@billpro.net
Date: 05/07/2014 04:46 PM
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                     Contact: CMS Media Relations

May 7, 2014                                                                  (202) 690-6145 or press@cms.hhs.gov

 
Reforms of regulatory requirements to save health care providers
$660 million annually

Reforms to Medicare regulations identified as unnecessary, obsolete, or excessively burdensome on hospitals and other health care providers will save nearly $660 million annually, and $3.2 billion over five years, through a rule issued today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services (CMS).


Together with another rule finalized in 2012, this rule is estimated to save heath care providers more than $8 billion over the next five years. This final rule supports President Obama’s unprecedented regulatory retrospective review—or “regulatory lookback”— initiative, where federal agencies are modifying, streamlining or eliminating excessively burdensome and unnecessary regulations on business.


“By eliminating stumbling blocks and red tape we can assure that the health care that reaches patients is more timely, that it’s the right treatment for the right patient, and greater efficiency improves patient care across the board,” said CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner.

This rule helps health care providers to operate more efficiently by getting rid of regulations that are out of date or no longer needed. Many of the rule’s provisions streamline health and safety standards health care providers must meet in order to participate in Medicare and Medicaid.


For example, a key provision reduces the burden on very small critical access hospitals, as well as rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers, by eliminating the requirement that a physician be held to a prescriptive schedule for being onsite. This provision seeks to address the geographic barriers and remoteness of many rural facilities, and recognizes telemedicine improvements and expansions that allow physicians to provide many types of care at lower costs, while maintaining high-quality care. 


The rule will also save hospitals resources by permitting registered dietitians and qualified nutritionists to order patient diets directly, which they are trained to do, without requiring the preapproval of a physician or other practitioner. This frees up time for physicians and other practitioners to care for patients.

 
Major provisions of the rule are:

•     Eliminates unnecessary requirements that ambulatory surgical centers must meet in order to provide radiological services that are an integral part of their surgical procedures, permitting them greater flexibility for physician supervision requirements.


•     Permits trained nuclear medicine technicians in hospitals to prepare radiopharmaceuticals for nuclear medicine without the supervising physician or pharmacist constantly being present, which will help speed services to patients, particularly during off hours.


•     Eliminates a redundant data submission requirement and an unnecessary survey process for transplant centers while maintaining strong federal oversight.


As part of the President’s regulatory lookback initiative, CMS issued a final rule in May, 2012, that also reduces burdensome or unnecessary regulations for hospitals and additional health care providers.  Those rules are saving nearly $1.1 billion across the health care system in the first year and more than $5 billion over five years.


To view the final rule, please visit www.ofr.gov/inspection.aspx.

 
 
 

 

Please see the article below appearing in the 4-25-14 e-mail from "AMA Morning Rounds."


Practice Management

Angle: ACA “temporarily rewards� those who stop paying premiums.

Jim Angle writes at FOX News (4/23) that “while the debate continues over how many ObamaCare enrollees are actually paying their premiums, one aspect of the law temporarily rewards those who actually stop paying – and doctors may wind up bearing the cost.� The Affordable Care Act “provides a 90-day grace period for people who have subsidized ObamaCare exchange plans and stopped paying their premium.� However, “insurance companies are only obligated to cover the first 30 days of the 90-day grace period.� Angle notes that “the American Medical Association is so concerned, it sent a sample letter doctors could give patients, telling them if they missed a premium, they could ‘...lose your insurance coverage. This letter is intended to let you know if you lose your coverage, you may be obligated to pay the full cost of services that we provide to you.’� Meanwhile, “the AMA is urging the administration to require insurers to notify doctors as soon as a patient falls behind on payments.�

Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
4-29-14

CMS just released "The Basics of Medicare Enrollment for Physicians and Other Part B Suppliers" which was updated in March 2014.  It is available at

  http://www.CMS.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/MedEnroll_PhysOther_FactSheet_ICN903768.pdf


Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
4-28-14

ATTENTION THE FOLLOWING MEDICARE PROVIDERS:  MDs, DOs, DPMs, OPTOMETRISTS, PAs, NPs, LISWs, PSYCHOLOGISTS AND PHYSICAL/OCCUPATIONAL/SPEECH-LANGUAGE THERAPISTS

CLIENTS:

Please scroll down to the CMS e-mail providing the new email address for the QualityNet Help Desk.


Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
4-28-14


    From: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [mailto:cmslists@subscriptions.cms.hhs.gov]
    To: debra@billpro.net
    Sent: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 09:02:00 -0500
    Subject: Update on PQRS QualityNet Help Desk

     
    [Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services]
    PQRS Participants: New Email Address for QualityNet Help Desk

    Do you have questions about participating in the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS)? The QualityNet Help Desk is available to assist you with your PQRS inquiries.  Email them using their new address: Qnetsupport@hcqis.org.

    The QualityNet Help Desk can provide guidance on:

        General PQRS program information
        Portal password issues
        Feedback report availability and access
        PQRS-IACS registration questions
        PQRS-IACS login issues

    Contact the Help Desk
    Hours:  7:00 AM-7:00 PM CT; Monday-Friday
    Phone: 1-866-288-8912; TTY: 1-877-715-6222
    Email: Qnetsupport@hcqis.org

    Other PQRS Resources
    Additional resources are available on the Educational Resources webpage to help you satisfactorily report your 2014 PQRS data.  This is available at http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/PQRS/EducationalResources.html

    Want to learn more about PQRS?
    For more information about PQRS, please visit the PQRS website at http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/PQRS/Index.html
 

ATTN:   MDs, DOs, DPMs, Optometrists

CLIENTS:

Your attention is directed to the CMS e-mail below titled "CMS Accepting EHR Hardship Exception Applications for Eligible Professionals."

Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
4-24-14

    From: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [mailto:cmslists@subscriptions.cms.hhs.gov]
    To: debra@billpro.net
    Sent: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 16:44:40 -0500
    Subject: CMS Accepting EHR Hardship Exception Applications for Eligible Professionals

       

    News Updates | April 22, 2014
     
       

    Eligible Professionals: Hardship Exception Applications due July 1, 2014

    Are you a Medicare provider who was unable to successfully demonstrate meaningful use for 2013 due to circumstances beyond your control? CMS is accepting applications for hardship exceptions to avoid the upcoming Medicare payment adjustment for the 2013 reporting year.

    Payment adjustments for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program will begin on January 1, 2015 for eligible professionals.

    However, you can avoid the adjustment by completing a hardship exception application and providing supporting documentation that proves demonstrating meaningful use would be a significant hardship for you. CMS will review applications to determine whether or not you are granted a hardship exception.

    CMS has posted hardship exception applications on the EHR website for:

        Eligible professionals
        Eligible professionals submitting multiple National Provider Identifiers (NPIs)

    Applications for the 2015 payment adjustments are due July 1, 2014 for eligible professionals.  If approved, the exception is valid for one year.

    New Hardship Exception Tipsheets
    You can also avoid payment adjustments by successfully demonstrating meaningful use prior to the payment adjustment. Tipsheets are available on the CMS website that outline when eligible professionals must demonstrate meaningful use in order to avoid the payment adjustments.

    Want more information about the EHR Incentive Programs?
    Make sure to visit the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs website for the latest news and updates on the EHR Incentive Programs at
https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/index.html?redirect=/ehrincentiveprograms/
       
   

ATTN:   MDs, DOs, DPMs, OPTOMETRISTS, PAs, NPs, LISWs, PSYCHOLOGISTS AND PHYSICAL/OCCUPATIONAL/SPEECH-LANGUAGE THERAPISTS

CLIENTS:

Your attention is directed to the CMS e-mail below which provides a new fact sheet on how to avoid the 2016 PQRS Payment Adjustment.

Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
4-24-14

    From: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [mailto:cmslists@subscriptions.cms.hhs.gov]
    To: debra@billpro.net
    Sent: Wed, 23 Apr 2014 15:03:08 -0500
    Subject: New Resource Explains How to Avoid 2016 PQRS Payment Adjustment in 2014

 
    New Fact Sheet Available on How to Avoid the 2016 PQRS Payment Adjustment

    Are you an eligible professional or part of a group practice participating in PQRS this year? If so, you must satisfactorily report data on quality measures during 2014 to avoid the 2016 payment adjustment.

    Review the new fact sheet for guidance on how to avoid the 2016 PQRS Payment Adjustment.  It is available at http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/PQRS/Payment-Adjustment-Information.html

    Avoid the 2016 Payment Adjustment
    You can avoid the 2016 payment adjustment by meeting one of the following criteria during the one-year 2014 reporting period (January 1–December 31):

    If Participating as an Individual Eligible Professional

        Meet the criteria for satisfactory reporting adopted for the 2014 PQRS incentive.

    OR

        Participate in PQRS via qualified clinical data registry, qualified registry, or claims reporting and report at least three measures covering one National Quality Strategy (NQS) domain for at least 50 percent of your Medicare Part B Fee-For-Service (FFS) patients.

    If Participating as a Group Practice

        Meet the Group Practice Reporting Option (GPRO) requirements for satisfactory reporting.

    OR

        Participate in PQRS via qualified registry reporting and report at least three measures covering one NQS domain for at least 50 percent of your group practice’s Medicare Part B FFS patients.

    Want more information about PQRS?
    Please visit the CMS PQRS website: http://www.cms.gov/PQRS.
    C

ATTENTION  MDs, DOs, DPMs, Optometrists

Please scroll down to the CMS e-mail titled "Learn the Latest about the EHR Incentive Programs."   If participating in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, we strongly advise subscribing to the listserv "to receive timely information and resources from CMS on program updates.

If unable to register by clicking on "Click here" below, the link is available at

 https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USCMS/subscriber/new?pop=t&topic_id=USCMS_627.

Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
4-22-14

    From: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [mailto:cmslists@subscriptions.cms.hhs.gov]
    To: debra@billpro.net
    Sent: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 17:14:33 -0500
    Subject: Sign Up for CMS’ EHR Incentive Programs Listserv

         

    Learn the Latest about the EHR Incentive Programs

    As a registered eligible professional or eligible hospital in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, CMS invites you to subscribe to the EHR Incentive Programs listserv (https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/CMS_EHR_Listserv.html) to receive timely information and resources from CMS on program updates, including:

        Reminders for upcoming deadlines and milestones
        Resources to help you participate
        New and updated Frequently Asked Questions   https://questions.cms.gov/faq.php?id=5005&rtopic=1979
        Guidance on program participation

    This listserv will assist you throughout your participation in the programs. If you subscribe to the listserv, make sure to add cmslists@subscriptions.cms.hhs.gov to your approved senders list so that the EHR Incentive Programs listserv messages do not get caught in your spam folder.  Click here to sign up today.

    Want more information about the EHR Incentive Programs?
    Make sure to visit the EHR Incentive Programs website for complete information about the CMS Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs  http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/index.html?redirect=/EHRIncentivePrograms
       

Please scroll down to the CMS e-mail dated 4-18-14 titled "Special 2014 EHR Reporting Periods for Eligible Professionals."


Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
4-21-14

    From: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [mailto:cmslists@subscriptions.cms.hhs.gov]
    To: debra@billpro.net
    Sent: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 13:43:31 -0500
    Subject: Special 2014 EHR Reporting Periods for Eligible Professionals

    [EHR Incentive Programs ? A program of the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services]
       

    News Updates | April 18, 2014
     
       

    Learn About the Special EHR Reporting Periods for Eligible Professionals in 2014

    If you are an eligible professional, make sure you are aware of the special reporting periods for submitting meaningful use measures in 2014.  Visit http://cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms/Participation-Timeline.html#.U1TLcM5fhjN

    Meaningful Use Reporting for Medicare and Medicaid Eligible Professionals
    You only need to demonstrate meaningful use for a three-month, or 90-day, reporting period, regardless if you are demonstrating Stage 1 or Stage 2 of meaningful use.

    Choose your reporting period based on your program and participation year:

        Medicare beyond first year of meaningful use: Select a three-month reporting period fixed to the quarter of the calendar year.
        Medicare in first year of meaningful use: Select any 90-day reporting period. To avoid the 2015 payment adjustment, begin your reporting period by July 1 and attest by October 1.
        Medicaid: Select any 90-day reporting period that falls within the 2014 calendar year.

   

CMS released a new fact sheet (ICN 901010) titled "Medicaid Program Integrity:  What is a Prescriber's Role in Preventing the Diversion of Prescription Drugs?"   Per CMS, "this fact sheet is designed to provide education on the prescriber's role in preventing the diversion of prescription drugs.  It includes information regarding practices to prevent, the impact of, and the penalties for drug diversion."  It is available at

http://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNProducts/MLN-Publications-Items/ICN901010.html

      ->  scroll down and under "Downloads" click on "Medicaid Program Integrity:  What Is a Prescriber's Role in Preventing the
            Diversion of Prescription Drugs? Fact Sheet (March 2014) PDF, 1MB)"


Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
4-18-14

Please scroll down for the CMS e-mail with the News Update "Eligible Professionals Must Start Medicare EHR Participation in 2014 to Earn Incentives."

 Debra Farley
 Billing Director
 BILLPro Management Systems
 4-16-14

        From: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [mailto:cmslists@subscriptions.cms.hhs.gov]
        To: debra@billpro.net
        Sent: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 16:16:53 -0500
        Subject: Eligible Professionals: Don’t Miss the Chance to Earn EHR Incentive Payments

        News Updates | April 15, 2014
         
           

        Eligible Professionals Must Start Medicare EHR Participation in 2014 to Earn Incentives

        Important Medicare Deadline Approaching for Eligible Professionals

        If you are an eligible professional for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, 2014 is the last year you can start participation in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program in order to receive incentive payments.

        Eligible professionals who begin participation in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program after 2014 will not be able to earn an incentive payment for that year or any subsequent year of participation.

        If you choose to participate in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program for the first time in 2014, you should begin your 90-day reporting period no later than July 1, 2014 and submit attestation by October 1, 2014 in order to avoid the payment adjustment in 2015.

        Note: October 1 is the attestation deadline for eligible professionals in their first year of participation to avoid the payment adjustment. However, eligible professionals who miss this deadline can still demonstrate meaningful use during the last 90-day reporting period of the year (October - December 2014) and earn an incentive payment for 2014.

        Providers Who First Begin Participation in 2014 must:

            Demonstrate Stage 1 of meaningful use
            Meet 2014 EHR certification criteria
            Select any 90-day reporting period to demonstrate meaningful use, but must start no later than July 1, in order to avoid the adjustment

        To Earn Your Maximum Medicare Incentive

            Demonstrate 90 days of Stage 1 of meaningful use in 2014 to earn up to $11,760.
            Demonstrate a full year of Stage 1 of meaningful use in 2015 to earn up to $7,840.
            Demonstrate a full year of Stage 2 of meaningful use in 2016 to earn up to $3,920.

        If you successfully demonstrate meaningful use each year beginning in 2014, your total payment amount could be as much as $23,520.

        Additional Resources
        The EHR Incentive Program website offers several helpful tools and resources so you can successfully begin participation:

            An Introduction to the Medicare EHR Incentive Program for Eligible Professionals
            Interactive Eligibility Assessment Tool
            The Stage 1 Meaningful Use Attestation Calculator
            My EHR Participation Timeline
            Payment Adjustments & Hardship Exceptions Tipsheet for Eligible Professionals

Well, the Affordable Care Act Exchange Plans are upon us and have begun to wreak havoc in the billing world.   To date we have dealt with issues with the Anthem and SummaCare exchange products.  Detailed below are the problems posed.

1)  Most providers, as well as BILLPro (BPM), do not know if they are participating or non-participating in these plans.

2)  The beneficiaries' insurance cards do not always make mention of the product being an exchange product, which is what
     many in the the industry feared would happen.

Much goes into posting payer explanation of benefits (eob) including, but not limited to, paying close attention to the payer allowance and the patient responsibility as determined by the payer.

Saying that, let's first discuss Anthem.   We have found in a few practices that the payer adjudicated the claim with its normal allowance, per line item, but we noted the patient responsibility was listed as the provider's full fee.  The remark code on the eob indicated the payer allowance, which was not the full fee, went to the patient's deductible.  There was no mention of the claim being processed out-of-network.  Upon our investigation with Anthem we found that the provider is out-of-network with the Exchange product even though he is a participating provider with all other products!  Below is a link to Anthem's site for its Exchange plans

  http://www.anthem.com/wps/portal/ahpprovider?content_path=provider/noapplication/f1/s0/t0/pw_e198369.htm&state=oh&rootLevel=0&label=Health%20Insurance%20Exchange

Upon reading the information on the site, there are 4 Anthem prefixes (JWR, JWS, JWT, JWQ) which will identify their Exchange Plans.  If the provider is an existing Anthem network provider in the Blue Access PPO plans, claims will be processed as in-network ONLY IF THE ID CARRIES A JWQ PREFIX.  Related to the other 3 prefixes  (JWR, JWS, JWT), only a subset of Anthem's participating PPO providers are participating.  Per Anthem, "providers were notified that they were selected for participation in the new networks via a certified letter and/or through a provider reimbursement contract amendment."  If providers didn't notify BILLPro that they received this information, BILLPro has no way of knowing if they are an in-network provider with its exchange products.

Related to the Summa Exchange Products, the same scenario in claims processing as detailed above with Anthem occurred but they have included an additional remark code on the eobs which states that the services were not provided or authorized by a designated (network/primary care) provider.  Summa was contacted and advised that, even though the provider is a network provider in SummaCare, the provider is not a SummaCare Select provider.   SummaCare Select providers must have privileges at a SummaCare Hospital or University Hospitals to be contracted for this particular product.   If contracted on the SummaCare Select plan, the provider's contract was automatically amended to include the Summa Exchange products.  Summa provided us with samples of what their Exchange product insurance cards look like (see attached).  There are 3 levels of coverage, Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

It is important that you notify your account manager at BPM if you know you are participating with any Exchange Plan so she is aware and can pass that information on to our credentialing department to update your file.   If BPM finds that a claim was processed as detailed above with Anthem, SummaCare or any other payer, your account manager may have to contact that payer and find out if it involves an exchange plan and then contact you as you must provide direction as to how to handle these out-of-network claims -- do you wish the patient to be billed the amount listed on the eob as patient responsibility or do you wish the patient responsibility to be reduced to the allowed amount*?

**Before these exchange products came into place, third party commercial payers voiced complaints when a non-network provider reduced the fee billed the patient to the in-network allowance because this encourages patients to avoid their carriers' rules.  In all probability, with the advent of the exchange products, the same applies.  Until the industry knows more about these exchange products and until the patients comprehend their coverage guidelines/requirements, the patient responsibility can be handled in a few ways, i.e.,

a)  the patient to be billed the full provider fee with a note that the provider is NOT participating with their Exchange and, therefore,
     the full fee, pursuant to their insurance company, is due from them along with advising them that, to obtain maximum benefits,
     they must seek care from a participating Exchange provider in their network      OR

b)  the patient to be billed the payer allowance on the eob with a note that the provider is NOT participating with their Exchange
     and, though their Exchange states we may bill them the full fee, the practice has reduced it to the allowance listed on the claim
     adjudication notice from their Exchange but advise them that, to obtain maximum benefits, they must seek care from a
     participating provider in their network.  You may also want to consider indicating something to the effect that if the balance is
     not paid within __ days, the reduction of the fee will be negated and the full fee shall become their responsibility.

Also, consideration may be given to have a sign(s) placed in your office addressing the Exchange plans to possibly include a statement that the office may NOT be a network provider in a particular Affordable Care Act Exchange plan and the patient may be responsible for the full fee.

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THIS E-MAIL BE SHARED WITH YOUR OFFICE STAFF.


Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
4-14-14

The American Medical Association (AMA) published the following article on 4-8-14 on its "AMA Wire" site titled "Online resource now includes ICD-10 code set for an all-in-one reference."  To read the article please visit

    http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/ama-wire/ama-wire.page?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&UID=e38cf47a-fc5f-473b-9234-c9e714c1c8f0&plckPostId=Blog%3ae38cf47a-fc5f-473b-9234-c9e714c1c8f0Post%3a03e884d9-56fc-41e3-b4e6-0404a37329ec&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest#.U0eshM5fhjM

There are two free webinars remaining:  April 17th and April 24th.

As previously advised, BILLPro purchased the "AMA CodeManager Online" in 2012 and find it an excellent resource/reference.

Attached are two documents containing information on the "AMA CodeManager Online" which include the different products.

Below is the content of an e-mail sent by Shane Armstrong, Sales Executive American Medical Association, to BILLPro in November 2012 when we were first considering purchasing the ONLINE CodeManager which provides additional information.

                                                                 **********************************************************
    Thank you for your recent interest in the American Medical Associations Whitepaper publication; What you need to know for the upcoming Transition to ICD-10.

    At the American Medical Association (AMA), our goal is to provide the most comprehensive and trusted resources for those involved in the medical profession.

    I am contacting you because I am part of a new initiative here at the AMA; I specifically work with the CodeManager Online suite of products.Our new products can be found online, just as any other standard website. Anything you have with internet access can access our site. CodeManager is a self-updating coding and billing resource used by many health care professionals around the nation. Many of my clients have used this program as a way to overcome the challenges that ICD-10 presents. This will just be another automatic update in our system; meaning no extra work on your end.

    Please look to me as a personal resource for any and all of your organization's online coding needs. My contact information can be found below. Please feel free to contact me whenever you wish; by phone or by email, whatever is more convenient.

    We know how important this transition is to your practice. We have several resources to help in your transition; both in book format and the NEW online format.

    Please contact me if you would like more information on CodeManager online, or to schedule a virtual demo, so you can see the interrelatedness of the data and how this may benefit your practice.

    Regards,

    Shane Armstrong
    Sales Executive
    American Medical Association
    p: (847) 440-1753
    Email: Shane.Armstrong@ama-assn.org

                                               *********************************************************************

BILLPro actually partook in the webinar yesterday on the ICD-10 code set feature.  Our presenter was Shane Armstrong.  We asked him the pricing for the online ICD-10 code set so we could pass on to our clients. He stated one must purchase at least the standard product.  For non-AMA members it would be $400/year and for AMA members $300/year -- both are for one user.  There is a discount for multiple users.

IMPORTANT: THERE IS NO INCENTIVE FOR BILLPRO IF ANY CLIENT PURCHASES THE AMA CODEMANAGER ONLINE.  WE WOULD RECEIVE NO KICKBACK, REBATE, OR DISCOUNT OFF OF OUR SUBSCRIPTION TO THIS PRODUCT.


Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
4-11-14
   

The AMA posted on its website on 4-9-14 an article titled "3 things you need to know about Medicare’s claims data release"

It is available at:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/ama-wire/ama-wire.page?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&UID=e38cf47a-fc5f-473b-9234-c9e714c1c8f0&plckPostId=Blog%3ae38cf47a-fc5f-473b-9234-c9e714c1c8f0Post%3a8ef03d25-8c91-45bb-83ac-6849a6427a99&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest#.U0erbM5fhjM

Debra Farley
Billing Director
BILLPro Management Systems
4-11-14