HHS Announces Intent to Delay ICD-10 Compliance Date
As part of President Obama’s commitment to reducing regulatory burden, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen G. Sebelius today announced that HHS will initiate a process to postpone the date by which certain health care entities have to comply with International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition diagnosis and procedure codes (ICD-10).
The final rule adopting ICD-10 as a standard was published in January 2009 and set a compliance date of October 1, 2013 – a delay of two years from the compliance date initially specified in the 2008 proposed rule. HHS will announce a new compliance date moving forward.
”ICD-10 codes are important to many positive improvements in our health care system,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “We have heard from many in the provider community who have concerns about the administrative burdens they face in the years ahead. We are committing to work with the provider community to reexamine the pace at which HHS and the nation implement these important improvements to our health care system.”
5 Best Practices for Pain Management Billing and Collections
Here are five best practices to improve the billing process for pain management physicians.
1. Figure out where your cases will be most profitable. Pain management physicians should analyze their cases to determine the most profitable place of service (POS) for each procedure they perform. Not all cases pay well in all locations. Schedule cases in the location that pays best.
2. Keep implants in mind when negotiating payer contracts. Some pain procedures require expensive implants and if payer contracts don’t reflect a competitive rate, you won’t make money on those procedures. Carve-out the procedures that include an implant to ensure better rates within the contract.
3. Have expert coders for pain management. Pain management professionals utilize a lot of new innovations and procedures. Physicians should be aware of which procedures an insurance company considers experimental to avoid denied claims and loss revenue. Coders must stay current with the latest technology and procedures to optimize the reimbursement for the pain practice.
4. Be prepared for denied claims. Billing staff and coders should know how to handle denied claims. Claims are denied for a multitude of reasons and coders may need to refer back to the physician for clarification. If a procedure is performed differently than usual, the coder must know the reasoning behind this change to support reimbursement from the payer. Accurate clinical documentation will always provide support to your staff when appealing denied claims.
5. Train staff in patient collections. Your staff must be trained in the art of persuasion. This might mean asking the patient which type of credit card they’d like to pay with instead of asking how they would like to pay. Collecting from the patient in person is an art form. Your scheduler should indicate all outstanding balances when a patient calls to set-up a follow-up visit. Physicians should not be shy about asking their patient to settle their outstanding balance prior to leaving the office. Collections from the patient should be a team effort.
