NCDS Updates

A two percent cut to Medicare reimbursement will be paused until the end of the year, CMS recently announced. The announcement via the MLN Connects newsletter on April 16th stated that the Medicare sequestration will not be applied to Medicare fee-for-service claims through Dec. 31, 2021, per a new federal law.

A priority bill for the house of medicine has completed its journey through both chambers of the Texas Legislature. Now, the state’s pending tax on medical billing services is just one signature from Gov. Greg Abbott away from disappearing – which would keep physicians from paying passed-down costs from outsourced medical billing companies.

ODM announced the selection of six managed care plans to lead the department’s evolution of managed care services for its more than 3 million members and thousands of medical providers…

The 2021 AMA National Advocacy Conference is normally held in Washington, with traditional highlights including visits to Capitol Hill where physicians meet with their senators and representatives to seek their support in addressing the concerns of their patients and colleagues.

Medicare spending on physician services decreased by $9.4 billion, or 19 percent, in the first half of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new analysis from the American Medical Association (AMA).

What’s the news: President Joe Biden’s administration is nearly doubling the Medicare payment for administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, raising it from $23 to $40, effective immediately.

Telemedicine will not revolutionize health care on its own, but the experience of millions of Americans during the pandemic assures us that it will become a permanent fixture of the health care ecosystem – one likely to account for a growing share of revenue in our $4 trillion health care economy.

In anticipation of possible Congressional action to extend the 2% sequester reduction suspension, we instructed the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to hold all claims with dates of service on or after April 1, 2021, for a short period without affecting providers’ cash flow.

While physicians worked to keep their practices financially afloat and dealt with COVID-19, hackers kept busy, too. From January through October of last year, there were 730 publicly disclosed security breaches with more than 22 billion records exposed, according to the cybersecurity firm Tenable.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is implementing multiple flexibilities for the Quality Payment Program (QPP) in response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic public health emergency (PHE).

Short answer, yes, but, there are exceptions for certain employees raising certain objections.

There are several similarities and differences between COVID-19 and flu. Do you know what they are?

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act suspended the payment adjustment percentage of 2% applied to all Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) claims from May 1 through December 31.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to affect millions of lives and every aspect of the US economy.

For office/outpatient E/M visits, the 1995 and 1997 E/M guidelines will no longer be used effective January 1, 2021.

Short answer, yes, but, there are exceptions for certain employees raising certain objections…

UnitedHealth Group’s Optum announced on Wednesday that it would acquire Change Healthcare with the aim of more effectively simplifying core clinical, administrative and payment processes…

The Biden administration has announced that it will begin shipping about 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses a week directly to thousands of pharmacies in an attempt to address equity concerns and speed up the country’s crucial inoculation effort….

After some delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS has released the final rule for the 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The final rule unveiled by CMS yesterday evening will dictate how much Medicare physicians get paid for delivering care starting January 1, 2021. In the rule, CMS finalized a conversion factor of $31.41, which is a decrease of $3.68 compared to the previous year’s conversion factor.

On December 1, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that includes updates on policy changes for Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), and other Medicare Part B issues, on or after January 1, 2021.