Long-Term Care Newsletters

Billing Alert for Long-Term Care CNA Training Advisor: Lesson Plans for Busy Staff Trainers PPS Alert for Long-Term Care

It's essential to know how to correctly submit your Medicare claims in order to get the reimbursement your facility deserves. Billing Alert for Long-Term Care provides the crucial tips and strategies that billers need for success.

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Billing Alert for Long-Term Care

Issue 12, December 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Unite your SNF's staff to help maximize reimbursement results

  Staff in your skilled nursing facility's (SNF) business office may feel like they are miles away...

• Drug costs got you down?

  Your skilled nursing facility (SNF) works hard to provide a high standard of care for its...

• Take the mystery out of therapy billing

  From figuring time-based codes and service-based codes to converting minutes to units, after you...

Issue 11, November 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Piece together the private pay puzzle

  Whether your skilled nursing facility (SNF) is big or small, rural or urban, for-profit or...

• Best billing practices for tackling the new therapy caps

  The long-term staying power of the therapy cap may still be up in the air, but one thing is...

• Stumped about reimbursement for your SNF's outpatient settings?

  The assistants and aides in your skilled nursing facility (SNF) serve as a valuable resource in the...

Issue 10, October 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Investing in staff training can pave the way to billing success

  When a new staff member starts working at the Merrimack Health Group billing office in Haverhill...

• Avoid the common pitfalls of some everyday SNF claims forms

  If you are a biller in a skilled nursing facility (SNF), you may have come across similar concerns...

Issue 9, September 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• HIPAA code sets countdown

  The HIPAA transactions and code sets compliance deadline is right around the corner, but many...

• Medicare Part B dialysis billing doesn't have to be dicey for SNFs

  Are you stumped by the numerous possible scenarios of billing for dialysis? Each one can take you...

• SNFs can avoid future bad debt with improved collection procedures

  Although it's always important for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to keep their billing records...

Issue 8, August 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Therapy cap start date gets pushed back to September 1

  Skilled nursing facility (SNF) billers can breathe a sigh of relief-at least temporarily-after CMS...

• SNF billers: Follow these three easy steps to simplify coding issues

  To tackle the coding puzzle, the SNF business office needs to take a three-pronged approach, which...

• Two scenarios that may raise tricky questions in the SNF business office

  Earning a new, 100-day Medicare benefit and holding a SNF bed for a resident during a hospital stay...

Issue 7, July 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• CMS releases billing info as July 1 therapy cap start date approaches

  As a skilled nursing facility (SNF) biller, it looks as though you'll need to carefully monitor...

• Billing for PEN: Is it right for you?

  You work in the business office of a skilled nursing facility (SNF) that's hit tough financial...

• BALTC Q&A

  "Q&A" was written by Lee Heinbaugh, controller for PMGO, Inc., long-term care consultants in...

• Admission, discharge scenarios that can interrupt the billing cycle

  Is your skilled nursing facility (SNF) billing on a 30-day cycle? While many SNFs are, others...

Issue 6, June 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• The therapy cap is coming back

  It's hard to blame Laura McDonnell for being a bit antsy. As the corporate business manager for the...

• Persistence pays off when searching for reimbursement resources

  If you don't have the most current fee schedule for a service such as therapy, you may wind up with...

• Experts offer advice on how to avoid being strapped by the therapy cap

  The July 1 start date of the therapy cap is leading skilled nursing facility (SNF) officials to...

Issue 5, May 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Mysteries of Part B billing unraveled

  Billing in-house for supplies under Medicare Part B has long been a scary issue in skilled nursing...

• HIPAA duties go beyond privacy

  Although the April 14 HIPAA deadline may be the primary concern for many skilled nursing facility...

• Missed hot spots on UB-92 get cool reception from Medicare, SNF executives

  When Stacy Polster, billing coordinator of government reimbursement, started her job at Cedar...

Issue 4, April 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Knowing the right codes will take you where you want to go

  If you want to be a hero in your skilled nursing facility (SNF), you need to understand revenue...

• Watch out for excluded services

  When PPS was instituted, CMS came up with a list of services that would be exempt from consolidated...

• SNF cost reports: If we have nothing to gain, why should we bother?

  In the days before PPS, filing a year-end cost report was a crucial step in making sure your...

Issue 3, March 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

Issue 2, February 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

Issue 1, January 1, 2003 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

Issue 3, March 21, 2003

• CMS answers frequently asked questions about group therapy billing

  Many skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) have a difficult time trying to determine whether to bill...

• Keep up with local medical review policies to avoid claim denials

  Life in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) billing office can be pretty hectic with new...

• MedPAC recommendations could put SNFs in a financial bind

  Just when it seemed like things couldn’t get much worse financially for skilled nursing...

Issue 2, February 21, 2003

• CMS extends cap moratorium

  $1,500 ceiling to take hold in July barring further actionShowing strong New Year’s resolve...

• Making managed care manageable

  Finding an alternative source of funding to pay for skilled nursing facility (SNF) care is a...

• Off-cycle assessments can lead to significant changes for residents, billers

  A change in the health of a resident can throw a monkey wrench into the billing office...

Issue 1, January 21, 2003

• Don’t trip up on coinsurance

  It’s very easy for skilled nursing facility (SNF) billers to get caught up in all of the...

• Get ready for the therapy cap

  The $1500 cap forces billers to carefully track claimsThe loss of two Resource Utilization...