The HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Technology released the final rule today that includes provisions for temporary certification of programs for EHR. (This will eventually be replaced by a permanent certification program). The entire press release can be found at the HHS website. “By purchasing certified EHR technology, hospitals and eligible professionals [...]
CMS has issued CR6899 indicating that effective 10-1-2010 outpatient rehab providers will no longer have to report value codes for the number of visits (Code 50 for PT, Code 51 for OT, Code 52 for SLP and Code 53 for Cardiac). This change affects Part A outpatient therapy providers (billing on CMS 1450/UB04) including CORFs, [...]
CMS has updated the “Rehabilitation Therapy Information” Fact Sheet and it is now available for downloading at the CMS website. The 4 page flyer inlcudes highlights over therapy changes over the past year including the therapy cap, DME Instructions, SLP in Private Practice, and Therapy Personnel Requirements. There are also links to rehab related Medicare [...]
CMS has recently announced a new round of RAC informational sessions for providers. The video features the slide show used in the original fall RAC informational sessions along with commentary by Commander Marie Casey. This video production is one of many that have been posted by CMS/HHS on YouTube. This video is being released as [...]
CMS has announced the therapy cap for 2010 is $1860, representing a $20 increase over the 2009 therapy cap. Transmittal R1851 to the Medicare Claims Processing Manual, dated 11/13/2009 and the accompanying MLN Article MM6660 provide information on the implementation. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) established a $1500 therapy cap for physical therapy (including speech-language [...]
Florida therapy providers are beginning to report the receipt of official “demand letters” from Connolly Healthcare, the Region C Recovery Audit Contractor. A Florida therapy provider, who asked not to be identified, has reported receiving several demand letters related to the billing of speech therapy untimed codes in units greater than one. This provider has multiple [...]