NCTracks Claim Processing Update Provided directly by CSC. Today marks the beginning of the second week of operations for NCTracks, the new claims processing system for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). We have processed over two...
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Stay informed with Medbill’s blog, where we share expert guidance, practical tips, and industry updates to help DME providers navigate the industry’s complexities.
Reimbursement
Aetna Revises DME Policies for TENS
Aetna Health Plan has revised their TENS policy effective 6/25/2013 to state that TENS is considered experimental and investigational for chronic low back pain. Change in Stance Aetna now considers transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators (TENS) medically necessary...
CMS quiet on Skilled Care Reimbursement Changes Fueled by Lawsuit
In recent years, many skilled care operators have nervously watched the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reduce and sometimes eliminate payments for physical, occupational and speech therapy services. But thanks to a recent class-action lawsuit settlement,...
OIG to CMS: Rein in CPAP supplies
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommends that CMS review and revise the replacement schedule for CPAP supplies in a report published today (June 26). The OIG studied the replacement schedules of 50 fee-for-service state Medicaid programs and found that 39% had...
Senate Finance Committe Warns of Audits Hurting DME Providers with Red Tape
In a Senate Finance Committee hearing this past Tuesday, Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) called on Congress and the administration to strengthen a key Medicare program that saves taxpayers millions of dollars each year by rooting out improper payments to health care...
Patient View: New Mediare Diabetic Testing Supplies Program
July 1st Medicare patients with diabetes will have to change how they get their diabetic testing supplies. That is when Medicare Part B will implement a national mail-order program. In South Dakota, 68-year-old Herb Grogan has a difficult time getting around. The...
Lawmakers call on OIG to investigate competitive bidding
In a June 21 letter to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Reps. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., and Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, call on the agency to investigate the possibility that CMS deliberately overlooked its own rules when awarding contracts for competitive bidding,...
Oregon Revives Bill to Crack Down on Regence BCBS Payments to ASCs
Oregon's House of Representatives has revived a measure that will prevent abusive payment practices to ASCs by Regence BlueCross BlueShield, according to The Lund Report. The measure, called the rider amendment, was tacked onto Senate Bill 724, which passed a House...
Reality Check: Competitive Bidding Program Myths Versus Facts
The Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program Myths Versus Facts Reality Check Recently CMS released a document titled "The Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Programs: Myths vs. Facts". This document outlined what CMS described as "Myths" of the...
U.S. District Court in Washington will hear AAHomecare request for immediate delay
U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, June 27 to consider a request for a temporary restraining order against the scheduled July 1 expansion of the Medicare competitive bidding program (CBP) for durable medical equipment (DME)...
Competitive Bidding will Eliminate Local Care Options for Beneficiaries
Flawed program will send Sranton disabled average 725 miles for a wheelchair Obtaining home medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers and life-saving oxygen systems is about to get a lot more difficult for Medicare beneficiaries living in northeastern...
Medicare Faulted for not Tracking Suspicious Prescribers
More than 700 doctors nationwide wrote prescriptions for elderly and disabled patients in highly questionable and potentially harmful ways, according to a critical report of Medicare's drug program released yesterday. The review by the inspector general of the U.S....