All Entries Tagged With: "medicare"
MedicareFind.com launches
HCPro, Inc. is pleased to announce it has launched MedicareFind.com. MedicareFind is a new regulatory database product that allows you to easily find Medicare-related source authorities. You can sort by date and also check just certain years, document types (e.g., transmittals), or sources of information (e.g., OIG, CMS).
Patient access managers may want to check out our “EasyFind” link to ABN-related documents.
You can also read analysis of recent Medicare-related regulations and tips for using the new MedicareFind site on the MedicareMentor Blog -- http://blogs.hcpro.com/medicarefind/
Medicare co-insurance collection
I am looking for hospitals who have been successful in collecting Medicare co-insurance to network with.
Stephanie Smithson, CHAM
Director of Patient Accounts
Dunn Memorial Hospital
Bedford, IN
WellPoint barred from enrolling new patients in Medicare
Health insurer WellPoint Inc. has been barred from adding customers to Medicare plans after it denied prescription drugs to the elderly, endangering their lives, the government announced. The sanctions, outlined in a letter to WellPoint from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, followed a "sharp" increase in consumer complaints.
Elderly customers were stopped from receiving essential prescription drugs, and some were overcharged because of computer mistakes, the government said.
Read the full story in the Los Angeles Times.
National health spending growth at slowest pace since 1999
Americans spent only 0.2% more on healthcare in 2006 than they did the year before, triggering the slowest growth grate since 1999. The average American spends $7,421 on healthcare, according to a report by CMS.
“This is another reminder that the cost of healthcare continues to be a real and pressing concern facing the American public and the federal government,” said CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems in a statement. “This report – like the reports issued last year on the financial status of Medicare and Medicaid – is a stark reminder that we must redouble our ongoing efforts to reform the delivery of healthcare services in this country to bring about the goal of affordable, high quality health for all Americans.”
NEWS: Bank VP gets three years in jail for Medicare fraud
A federal judge sentenced a former assistant vice president at Wachovia Bank to three years in prison for submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare, bizjournals.com reported this week.
Prosecutors said Javier J. Ortiz, 36, opened accounts for medical companies owned by Angel Castillo Jr.
NEWS: Six of 10 RACs in New York overturned on appeal
Nearly 60% of Medicare’s Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) determinations in New York State were given back to facilities after appeals, the Healthcare Association of New York reports.
About 33% of providers appealing RAC determinations won their cases and recouped their money.
To read the full story by the Healthcare Association of New York, click here.
Q. True or False. All Medicare supplement plan codes begin with 150
Q. True or False. All Medicare supplement plan codes begin with 150 A. True. This question is part of Boca Raton (FL) Community Hospital’s training assessment quiz for new patient access representatives.
Patient Access Advisor, January, 2008
Check out the January 2008 edition of Patient Access Advisor, which features:
- Important Message from Medicare: One hospital’s best practices
- My 2008 wish list
- In hindsight, it’s time to look forward
- 2008 OPPS final rule a radical change, sources say
- Copay collection: Better transparency with patients and dollars saved
- Patient Access Advisor 2007 index
Patient Access Advisor, December, 2007
Check out the December 2007 edition of Patient Access Advisor, which features:
- Flex-hours scheduling helps keep access staffs happy
- GA hospital system implements photo ID system to avoid identity theft, ensure a smooth registration
- Can we help you?
- Verification Q&A
- A solid interview process can net you the right employee
- Admitting Q&A
- Good incentives program can motivate staff
- Supervisor, access services, ED job description
- Important message from Medicare: Answers to your frequently asked questions (PDF only)
Patient Access Advisor, November, 2007
Check out the November 2007 edition of Patient Access Advisor, which features:
- Waiting for more than 30 minutes? We’ll send you to the movies
- Discharge appointments: Remedies for poor patient flow
- Denial management: Collaboration between front-end departments can result in significant improvement
- Answers to your toughest observation inquiries
- CMS: ‘Important Message from Medicare’ FAQs