What's New for Pain Management in 2019
I. Overview. This article will outline changes affecting pain practices in 2019 relating to: (1) Medicare reimbursement for pro fees...
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Dec 29, 2018
New Criminal Statute re Lab Payments
Applicability of Statute. Effective October 24, 2018, a new federal criminal statute went into effect directed at, among other things,...
Dec 29, 2018
What's New for Anesthesia in 2019
1. Changes in Medicare Reimbursement. There were slight increases in the Medicare conversion factor (“CF”) from 2018. The anesthesia CF...
Nov 4, 2018
CMS Changes to E/M Payment & Documentation
On November 1, 2018, CMS released the Final Rule for the 2019 Medicare Physicians Fee Schedule. The scope of this article is limited to...
Oct 24, 2018
"Incident to" Billing
Not all payers allow "incident to" billing. "Incident to" billing is a Medicare billing methodology which pays the practice 100%, even...
Jul 15, 2018
Medicare Proposes Revised E/M Payment & Documentation Rules
1. Proposed Rule Changes Payment for and Documentation of E/M Codes. Medicare is proposing to change the way it pays for E/M codes and...
Mar 1, 2018
Palmetto Takes Over Cahaba Providers
Effective 2/23/18, all Medicare providers previously under Cahaba's jurisdiction will now be under Palmetto's jurisdiction. When you log...
Feb 12, 2018
Anthem Restricts Use of Anesthesia for Cataract Surgery
On February 1, 2018, Anthem published a new coverage policy which restricts the use of monitored anesthesia care (“MAC”) and general...
Feb 12, 2018
AMA Modifies Coding Opinion for Genicular RF
In December 2015, the AMA issued an opinion indicating that the injection of the superior medial, lateral, and inferior branches of the...
Feb 12, 2018
Medicare Follow-up Regarding Genicular Blocks
In the article we wrote this morning about the AMA's changed position on genicular nerve RFs, I need to distinguish between Medicare and...
Jan 28, 2018
Back and Knee Braces Hit the OIG's Work Plan
This month the OIG just updated its "Work Plan" for 2018 by adding "Off-the-Shelf Orthotic Devices" to the Work Plan. The OIG will...
Jan 16, 2018
2018 Changes to ASA Crosswalk and RVG
1. Changes to ASA Crosswalk. There were a number of changes in the 2018 version of the ASA's Crosswalk. Many were not significant, but...
Jan 16, 2018
2018 Base Unit Values- ASA RVG vs. CMS
The list below contains anesthesia codes where the base unit values are different in the ASA RVG when compared to CMS for 2018. All...
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