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Tip: Help your staff with MSP questionnaire compliance

Patient Access Weekly Advisor, March 19, 2008

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The main hang-ups patient access staff members have with the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) questionnaire are often inadequate education, a lack of good resources and tools, and a "scarce understanding of Medicare compliance," says Eugene Cepeda, a senior consultant of revenue cycle at BESLER Consulting.

Patient access team members are not always properly trained on completing a thorough check for MSP conditions, in part, Cepeda says, because of high turnover rates.

What should patient access directors do to help their staff understand the reasons for the questions and importance of obtaining the right answers?

Cepeda says there is a need for greater emphasis on compliance.

"It is important to ensure the access staff members are familiar with the information required by the government and why it is necessary to gather the MSP information at the point of registration, as well as the effects [on the hospital] of not obtaining the proper information," he says.

Cepeda recommends that administrators provide the following basic resources for their staff members, specifically for use with the MSP:

An MSP checklist. The checklist should cover all the essential MSP questions that must be asked of the patient to determine payer responsibility during the encounter.

A list of the MSP-related terms and definitions. You can find the MSP terms and definitions in the Medicare section of the CMS Web site.

An MSP reference guide. Create an easy access reference guide for staff members that contains MSP policies and issues, as well as related terms and definitions.

Scripts. These can be beneficial for access staff members when they need to explain to a Medicare patient why it is necessary to ask the appropriate MSP questions.

To read the full article on MSP questionnaires, click here.

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