Q: Where are the guidelines for Medicare to qualify a patient for indigency?
Patient Financial Services Weekly Advisor, September 24, 2004
A: CMS has stated that indigency determinations are left in the hands of each provider. They simply require that the provider have a documented policy and procedures, and proof that the policy and procedures are followed for each case.
Therefore, there is no uniform base number or guidelines that providers must use. This position gives each provider the ability to set its own criteria.
To read CMS's question and answer resource on charges for the uninsured, click here.
This question was answered by PFSWA Editorial Advisor Sandra J. Wolfskill, FHFMA, president of Wolfskill & Associates, Inc., Chardon, OH.
Related Products
-
Recovery Auditor Report
The Recovery Auditor Report is a free biweekly e-newsletter of useful tips and strategies to get you prepared for the...
-
Medicare Update for CAHs
Medicare Update for CAHs is a free bi-weekly ezxne that provides specialized information for our CAH (critical access...
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- Featured blog post: Nurses face felony charges after reporting physician to the Texas Medical Board
- Topic: CMS, OESS post new security compliance review information, checklist
- HIPAA Q&A: Answering service messages
- Q/A: Volume requirement for reporting hydration services
- News and briefs: Oklahoma Osteopathic Association against residency bill change
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- QA:Coding multiple initial infusions
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- Are your workforce members texting PHI?
- CMS issues IPPS proposed rule for FY 2013
- E-mailed
-
- Featured blog post: Nurses face felony charges after reporting physician to the Texas Medical Board
- Are your workforce members texting PHI?
- Don't let these sentinel events trigger falsely
- Arkansas woman convicted for HIPAA violation
- Reasons for inadequate fluid intake in the elderly
- Q&A tackles coding questions about injections and infusions
- Joint Commission Center announces handoff communication solutions
- Inside best practice: Reduce patient falls with a stoplight
- Identify modifiable risk factors to prevent patient falls
- Hospitalist-surgeon comanagement has no effect on outcomes
- Searched