In This Issue:

• Government Incentive Programs for Healthcare Providers: 2012 a Turning Point
• Complimentary Webinar - Government Incentives for Medical Practices: Tips and Tools to Qualify, Participate and Get Paid
• 3 Medical Coding Strategies for 2012
• 10 To Dos to Prepare for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use
• Best Practices: Should a Credit Check Be Part of Your Medical Practice Hiring Process?
• ICD-10 Training Camp: “Combination” Means Several Things in a Larger Group, or a Product of Combining
• Learn How to Improve Your Practice Profitability in a Kareo Demo Webinar

Latest from Kareo

Government Incentive Programs for Healthcare Providers: 2012 a Turning Point

By Elizabeth W. Woodcock, MBA, FACMPE, CPC

This year brings a number of changes and deadlines in several federally funded government incentive programs for healthcare providers, including physicians and other eligible health care professionals. Fortunately, the windows of opportunity for these programs remain – though not for too much longer – to gain incentive payments, and avoid penalties... Read More

Complimentary Webinar - Government Incentives for Medical Practices: Tips and Tools to Qualify, Participate and Get Paid

Thursday, March 22, 2012
1:00 PM EDT/10:00 AM PDT
Speaker: Elizabeth W. Woodcock, MBA, FACMPE, CPC

As the economy continues to bump along in the doldrums – likely dragging down your practice’s revenue along with it – you need to take advantage of every opportunity. Today’s opportunities include several federally based incentive programs that can mean extra cash for physicians... Read More

3 Medical Coding Strategies for 2012

By Betsy Nicoletti, M.S., CPC

Last year, I wrote an article about the ten biggest coding mistakes medical practices make.  This year, I’d like to provide three key strategies for accurate medical coding.  Accurate coding is what gets a medical practice paid and protects it from compliance problems... Read More

10 To Dos to Prepare for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use

By Ron Sterling

On February 23, CMS released proposed rules for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use (MU) that will determine if Eligible Providers qualify or continue to qualify the Medicare/Medicaid EHR Incentive payments after December 31, 2013.  If you have not yet qualified, but plan to meet the MU standards, you need to consider the proposed Stage 2 items in your EHR selection and/or MU strategy... Read More

Best Practices: Should a Credit Check Be Part of Your Medical Practice Hiring Process?

By Laurie Morgan

When considering a new hire for your medical practice, learning as much as you can about the candidate’s background before moving ahead is critical.  After all, embezzlement and other types of fraud are huge concerns for medical practices... Read More

ICD-10 Training Camp: “Combination” Means Several Things in a Larger Group, or a Product of Combining

By Nancy Maguire, ACS, PCS, FCS, HCS-D, CRT

This month we are discussing fruit salad but replacing the fruit with code salads—that is, combinations of codes.  This combination concept will make the coder’s life easier because instead of... Read More

Learn How to Improve Your Practice Profitability in a Kareo Demo Webinar

By Kathy McCoy

Considering a switch to Kareo, but want to see how Kareo’s easy to use medical billing solution can help streamline your office and ask questions specific to your concerns? Then you are invited to join us for our next free demo webinars... Read More

Case Study “Kareo puts me in control of my livelihood. That means the world to me.” Michelle Meyer-Ban, RNC, MSN, WHNP-BC, Women’s Health First, LLP As a practice owner, Michelle Meyer-Ban is very concerned with maximizing the cash flow to her practice. And according to Michelle, she has found the ideal solution to do just that: Kareo’s medical billing software… Read More

Case Study “Since we switched to Kareo, we’ve been able to grow our revenue by 50%.” Rick Kaufman, CEO, Billing Advantage, Inc. Rick Kaufman did not start off in the medical billing business, but you wouldn’t know that judging by the success of his company, Billing Advantage, which has nearly 200 clients in 22 states and bills an average of... Read More

Billing Tip of the Month

Educate Staff and Patients on Patient Collections

Jeff Jarvis, aMAYZing Kids

The most important part of billing is education: staff AND patients (in our case, parents, since we’re a pediatric therapy group.) When I verify eligibility and benefits online... Read More

Top News and Ideas from Industry

Medicare Contractors Rejecting Pay for Some Legitimate Services

By Charles Fiegl, Amednews, March 1, 2012

A government watchdog's audit of improper payment determinations for Medicare services showed that contractors had denied payments for some valid services in 2010. Government auditors say estimates of improper payments would be lower if the contractors obtained documentation needed to approve physician services… Read More

First Look at the Next Stage of Meaningful Use

By Charles Fiegl, Amednews, March 5, 2012

Earning bonuses and avoiding payment cuts during stage 2 of the multibillion-dollar federal electronic medical record incentive program would require using technology that meets tougher quality objectives and that helps coordinate patient care, according to a proposed rule released on Feb. 23... Read More

The 2012 Payroll Tax-SGR Bill: What It Means for Physicians

By Bob Herman and Rachel Fields, Becker’s ASC Review, Feb. 28, 2012

The House and Senate have passed a new payroll tax cut bill that also stopped the Medicare payment cut to physicians, and it will now head to President Barack Obama's desk, where it is expected to be signed. But what does the bill mean for physicians and the healthcare industry as a whole? Read More

Be Ready for 5010 Enforcement

AAPC News, Feb. 22, 2012

Version 5010 enforcement begins April 1, having been postponed from Jan. 1 to allow providers, payers, and vendors to catch up. Here are some tips to help you be ready when the time comes… Read More

Avoid Payment Reduction for eRx

AAPC News, Feb. 22, 2012

Many providers’ offices suffer the 1 percent reduction in Medicare fees even after having a remittance with the N365 code for successfully submitting a G8533 code for electronic prescribing (eRX). Here are some common errors made with the submission of the G8533… Read More

MGMA Wants to Add Some Steps to the ICD-10 Timeline

ICD-10 Watch, Mar 01, 2012

The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) wants the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to do more than delay ICD-10 implementation. In a March 1 letter to HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius, MGMA president and CEO Susan Turney outlines some steps that should be added to the ICD-10 timeline that would inject some due diligence to the process... Read More

Paid by EFT? Choose One Recipient

AAPC News, Feb. 22, 2012

You may be contacted by your Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) soon about where you want electronic payments sent. Starting April 1, only one receiver will see electronic payment for a claim, no matter how many national provider IDs (NPIs) are on file… Read More

CMS Starts Immediate Recoupment for Overpayments

AAPC News, Feb. 10, 2012

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is implementing an immediate recoupment process for demanded overpayments. As it stands, Medicare contractors begin recoupment of an overpayment on day 41 from the date of the initial demand letter. Effective July 1, 2012, however… Read More

Survey Respondents Say Delay Would Make ICD-10 Implementation More Expensive

ICD-10 Watch, Feb. 27, 2012

It's tempting to think that delaying the ICD-10 implementation deadline can't be all bad. What's wrong with giving healthcare providers some more time to implement a costly and complicated change? Some healthcare professionals say it's going to significantly increase the cost of ICD-10 transition projects... Read More

Value-based Physician Reimbursement Gains Momentum

By Emily Berry, Amednews, Feb. 29, 2012

UnitedHealth Group is joining the growing pack of insurers beginning to compensate physicians for value in addition to volume of services. The nation's largest health plan wants to have at least 50% of its network under "value-based contracting" by 2015… Read More

Get Your Health Professional Shortage Area Bonus

AAPC News, Feb. 10, 2012

If you are a physician who furnishes services to Medicare patients in a primary care geographic health professional shortage area (HPSA) as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), you are eligible for a 10 percent bonus payment for services provided between Jan. 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2012… Read More

10 Steps to More Profitable Managed Care Contracts

By Rachel Fields, Becker’s ASC Review, March 1, 2012

Managed care contracting is essential to practice profitability, particularly as out-of-network billing becomes less feasible in many markets. This article discusses 10 ways surgery centers can achieve substantial increases year-over-year without hurting relationships with their payors... Read More

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