Medicare & Medicaid
House proposal would allow states which expanded Medicaid to be fully funded through 2020
The Wall Street Journal (3/3, Peterson, Hackman, Armour, Subscription Publication) reported the House Energy and Commerce Committee is drafting legislation to reshape Medicaid that would allow states which expanded the program under the Affordable Care Act to receive Federal funding at current levels until 2020. The bill is…
MACRA Update Regarding Removal of Social Security Numbers
CMS has announced that the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015, requires the removal of Social Security Numbers (SSNs) from all Medicare beneficiary cards by April 2019. A new randomly generated Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) will replace the SSN-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) on…
Obama Administration scraps Medicare Part B proposal for reimbursing physicians
The Wall Street Journal (12/16, Evans, Walker, Subscription Publication) reported that the Obama Administration has scrapped a controversial plan to alter how Medicare reimburses physicians for Part B drugs which they administer in their offices after the industry strongly criticized the proposal. Acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt said…
MACRA Update
AMS will continue to provide our physicians with updates on MACRA as new information becomes available. The AMA has some resources here. Below are some other resources you might find helpful: MACRA website - Includes a checklist with steps practices can take now to prepare, an action kit and…
Final MACRA Rule Expands Exemptions, Flexibility
Nearly a third of physicians could be exempt from Medicare's new merit-based incentive payment system under a final rule CMS issued on October 14, 2016, for implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). CMS heeded the concerns of small practices and Congress about the framework's impact on…
CMS finalizes disaster preparedness rule for Medicare, Medicaid providers
From AMA Morning Rounds, 9/12/16. The New York Times (9/10, A14, Fink, Subscription Publication) reported that some 72,315 healthcare providers and suppliers “will have a little over a year to meet federal disaster preparedness requirements completed this week by” CMS, but they will have to “scramble” to comply…
Arkansas One of 14 Regions Selected for CPC+
CPC+ is a nationwide, 5-year patient-centered medical home model that will include up to 5,000 practices across 14 regions, and includes Medicare, Medicaid, and private payers. The AMS was instrumental in supporting the application submitted by Arkansas Medicaid and a group of private payers in Arkansas. Arkansas was…
Revalidation Efforts Underway for Medicaid and Medicare
Arkansas physicians will begin to receive letters of revalidation from both Medicare and Medicaid. Instructions on how to complete the revalidation process will be included in the letter. AMS advises physicians to begin the process as soon as you receive the notification. A physician has 90 days from…
Managed Care Organizations Met With Skepticism by Some Health Care Professionals
Article from Arkansas Business, by Sarah Campbell, 7/4/16. Health care professionals in Arkansas are voicing skepticism that bringing managed care organizations into the state-run Medicaid program will stem the rising costs of government-provided health care. Their arguments are two-fold: The measures that MCOs employ to lower costs in…
Changes for Novitas Providers
Provider Enrollment Revalidation Cycle 2 All Medicare Part A and B providers are required to recertify the accuracy of their enrollment information every five years through a process known as revalidation. The initial five-year revalidation cycle was completed in 2015 and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services…
3 Useful Changes to Meaningful Use
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed changes to the Meaningful Use program that are intended to relieve physician reporting burdens. Those changes include reducing the 2016 reporting period to 90 days. Based on feedback from the health care community, the proposed changes "better support…