5 Most Common 5010 Transaction Rejections
After extensive testing of 5010 claims transactions with Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield and commercial payers, clearing houses have identified the 5 most common rejections that practices need to fix to insure that there claims will pass the new 5010 edits.
1. Billing Provider Address – Claims are rejecting because the field contains a PO Box or Lock Box address.
2. 9 Digit Zip Code – required for the billing provider. This can be obtained by going to the US postal services website.
3. Provider Accept Assignment Code – claims will be rejected that do not contain a value value for the payers that are live for 5010 transaction (if Live the assignment needs to be “A” for assigned).
4. Priority (Type) of Admission or Visit – payers who are live for 5010 transaction will need a value code for the admission or visit priority. Contact your billing software vendor or your clearing house to insure that you are providing this priority type in the electronic transaction file.
5. Drug Quantity – the CTP segment has been modified to require the drug quantity when a drug is billed. Contact your billing software vendor to insure that the drug quantity is being included in the electronic claims transactions.
Practices must adopt the latest version of the HIPAA electronic transaction standards, Version 5010, by Jan. 1, 2012. These electronic transaction standards include claims, insurance eligibility verification, remittance advice and others.
Health Insurance Claims Processing Errors on the Rise
The rate of inaccurate claims payments increased last year among commercial health insurers, according to the American Medical Association’s annual National Health Insurer Report Card.
Commercial health insurers had an average claims-processing error rate of 19.3 percent, a 2 percent increase from 2010, according to the AMA findings, which are based on a random sampling of 2.4 million electronic claims in February and March.
The AMA estimates the increase in overall inaccuracy represents an extra 3.6 million in erroneous claims payments compared to last year and adds $1.5 billion in unnecessary administrative costs. Eliminating health insurer claim payment errors would save $17 billion annually, the AMA estimated.
Physician billing and practice management companies have had to implement new tools and techniques to insure that their clients done feel the effects of this insurance industry trend.
