Medicare Physician Cuts Patched Again
This past Monday night, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 4302, the "Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014," thereby postponing the 24 percent Medicare physician payment cut until April 1, 2015. Instead, the current 0.5% update will remain in place to the end of the year, followed by…
Attestation Deadline for Meaningful Use Extended
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the original planned deadline date for all physicians who are attesting for Medicare Meaningful Use in 2013 has been extended from February 28 to March 31. The date has been delayed because the attestation system experienced a number…
Private Option Passes House with 76-24 Vote
To our members: Thank you for contacting members of the Arkansas House of Representatives in support of the Private Option. Your work helped push the vote past the needed 75 for the appropriation. With our state constitution requiring 75% legislative support for most appropriations over $2.5 million, it…
Arkansas Legislature reauthorizes Medicaid expansion
National coverage from AMA Morning Rounds, 3/5/14. Multiple national and regional newspapers, wire services, and beltway publications cover news of the passage of a much-watched piece of legislation from Arkansas regarding expanded Medicaid eligibility. The New York Times (3/5, Goodnough, Subscription Publication) reports that the Arkansas House of…
Help Repeal the SGR!
Contact the Arkansas Congressional Delegation through THIS LINK or call the AMA's Physicians Grassroots Network hotline at (800) 833-6354. Ask them to support legislation that will repeal the SGR. The bills are H.R. 4015 and S. 2000. Share with them that: The SGR formula is widely acknowledged to…
How you can tip the balance for SGR repeal
From AMA Morning Rounds, Feb 10, 2014 A long-awaited and hard-fought bill to permanently repeal Medicare’s fatally flawed SGR formula finally is before Congress, following a milestone announcement Thursday. It’s critical to maintain the momentum in Congress: Your voice could tip the balance to pass repeal this year.…
Lawmakers release plan to repeal SGR
From AMA Morning Rounds, 2/7/2014 News that lawmakers have released a plan that would permanently fix the sustainable growth rate received coverage in a few major US newspapers, and was widely covered in the beltway media. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle praised the deal, as did…
G8553 Code No Longer Valid
AMS has been receiving questions on HCPCs code G8553 and why it is no longer valid for 2014. Physicians no longer have to report any code when prescribing electronically. ERx incentive is being replaced by EHR, Meaningful Use and PQRS incentives. If a physician qualified for the incentive…
Private Option: What to do when patient has carrier card and Medicaid number
Under the "private option" coverage expansion, individuals that have been approved for coverage will first receive a letter which includes a Medicaid number. The letter also provides directions to determine if they qualify for the Private Option. If they qualify for Private Option, they will be directed to…
Upcoming Webinar Gets You ready for ICD-10
With the ICD-10 implementation deadline looming on October 1, 2014, it is critical for practices to begin their preparation for the ICD-10 conversion. Make plans today to attend the AMS webinar, How to Prepare for ICD-10: A guide for Physicians and Clinic Managers, presented by State Volunteer Mutual…
ICD-9 to ICD-10 Crosswalk Diagnoses by Specialty
Information was recently released from WEDI in collaboration with AAPC regarding the most common diagnoses typically used on Superbills. The following information is provided as a free resource for crosswalk translations that may be applicable to your practice. You can click on the link below and access translations…