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, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Recovery audit contractors: Ready or not, here they come

  Billers can help to better prepare their SNFs for the expanding RAC program by enacting prevention...

• Take the pain out of immunizations with roster billing

  Roster billing can help your billing department cut down on the time it takes to process...

• Billing for ambulance services

  To avoid problems with billing for ambulance services, medical billers must understand the rules...

• BALTC Q&A

  Columnist Lee A. Heinbaugh answers questions about using the online Medicare system.

Issue 11, November 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Don't let your billing office bypass resident resource payments

  State Medicaid programs require Medicaid beneficiaries to contribute a resident resource...

• Rein in the facility census

  Many SNFs do a poor job of maintaining their census report, and this can create issues with...

• Coding patient status on the UB-04

  The patient status code, which is entered at form locator (FL) 17 on the UB-04, indicates the...

• BALTC Q&A

  Columnist Lee A. Heinbaugh answers questions about billing for wound care.

• Don't overlook condition codes

  A recent CMS transmittal shines the spotlight on an often-overlooked UB-04 coding element: the...

Issue 10, October 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• New rules on default billing end CMS flip-flops

  CMS clarifies when SNFs can bill the Medicare Part A default rate if a PPS MDS assessment...

• Late vs. missed assessments: The difference is money

  The skilled nursing facility (SNF) PPS and consolidated billing final rule for fiscal year 2009...

• CMS affirms that SNFs can charge Medicare bed holds

  SNFs now have some up-to-date directions when it comes to billing Medicare for bed holds.

• BALTC Q&A

  Columnist Lee A. Heinbaugh discusses appropriate assessment types and Medicare Part A billing.

• How FIs view changes in therapy services during a payment period

  Effective April 30, 2007, fiscal intermediaries and Part A/B Medicare administrative contractors...

Issue 9, September 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Prepare for a personal funds review during survey

  The new quality indicator survey (QIS) process is slowly picking up speed. Statewide rollout is...

• Six steps to better Medicare coinsurance billing

  Medicare coinsurance collections can often trip up billers. To ensure productive, timely Medicare...

• BALTC Q&A

  Columnist Lee A. Heinbaugh answers questions about Medicare Advantage claims.

Issue 8, August 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Audit your demand billing process before surveyors do

  Demand billing review is part of the traditional survey process for Medicare-certified facilities...

• Medicare payments expected to decline in 2009

  Hot topics at CMS' May Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)/Long-Term Care Open Door Forum...

• CMS issues draft supplemental compliance guidance for nursing facilities; resident care a top concern for OIG

  This spring, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a Federal Register notice containing...

• Want to bill more accurately?

  Successful error-free billing hinges on obtaining accurate and complete demographic and insurance...

• BALTC Q&A

  Editor's note: "Q&A" was written by Lee A. Heinbaugh, president of the Heinbaugh Group, a long-term...

Issue 7, July 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• DMEPOS competitive bidding: First round begins July 1

  Medicare Part B payment rates for most durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and...

• Qualifying stay criteria not met? You still might need to submit a Part A claim

  Effective July 1, the burden on skilled nursing facility (SNF) business offices to track residents...

• Gain control of CCI edits on Part B therapy claims

  More than two years after their January 1, 2006, implementation for Medicare Part B skilled nursing...

• Learn the basics: What the CCI edits mean to you

  National Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) edits are pairs of CPT or HCPCS Level II codes that are...

Issue 6, June 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Medicare Advantage plans: Steps to trouble-free billing

  Most skilled nursing facilities (SNF) experience some difficulties billing Medicare Advantage (MA...

• Postacute care demonstration up and running

  The Postacute Care Payment Reform Demonstration (PAC-PRD) was among the hot topics at the April...

• BALTC Q&A

  Editor's note: "Q&A" was written by Lee A. Heinbaugh, president of the Heinbaugh Group, a long-term...

Issue 5, May 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Learn mechanics of Part B wound care supply billing

  Editor's note: The following is the last article in a two-part series about Part B wound care...

• Audit routinely to ensure billing accuracy

  Facilities that bill for wound care supplies should conduct an internal audit quarterly, as well as...

• SNF ABN to be implemented by September 1

  Change was the watchword for the February Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)/Long-Term Care Open Door...

• BALTC Q&A

  Editor's note: "Q&A" was written by Lee A. Heinbaugh, president of the Heinbaugh Group, a long-term...

Issue 4, April 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• CMS offers advice on meeting the May 23 NPI deadline

  Medicare claims received by fee-for-service Medicare contractors on or after May 23 must have only...

• Part B wound care supplies can bring in revenue

  Editor's note: Part one of this two-part series on Part B wound care supply billing examines how to...

• Part B therapy caps: Use KX modifier for covered, medically necessary exceptions

  The Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (S.2499) extended the exceptions process to...

• BALTC Q&A

  Editor's note: "Q&A" was written by Lee A. Heinbaugh, president of The Heinbaugh Group, a long-term...

Issue 3, March 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Tailor four basic benefits exhaust scenarios to fit your needs

  Medicare-required benefits exhaust claims are basically a tracking mechanism, preventing Part A...

• BALTC Q&A

  Editor's note: "Q&A" was written by Lee A. Heinbaugh president of the long-term care consulting...

• Correction/clarification of MD signature requirements for therapy

  The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule for 2008 changed how often physicians must...

Issue 2, February 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• What exactly is a skilled nursing facility?

  New MLN Matters article SE0745 states up front that it is "for informational purposes only and does...

• Value-based purchasing demo: Some basics

  The three-year nursing home value-based purchasing demonstration, which will include up to 250...

• Billing/MDS conflicts? Work out a compromise

  When the business office is locked in what seems like an eternal struggle with the clinical team...

• BALTC Q&A

  Editor's note: "Q&A" was written by Lee A. Heinbaugh, president of The Heinbaugh Group, a long-term...

Issue 1, January 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Look for MDS 3.0 implementation in fall 2009

  The details are sketchy, but CMS plans to implement MDS 3.0-the new and hopefully improved version...

• Optimize your aging reports

  Fourteen helpful steps to keep accounts receivable on track in your facility Aging reports are a...

• BALTC Q&A

  Editor's note: "Q&A" was written by Lee A. Heinbaugh, president of The Heinbaugh Group, a long-term...

• Billing 101: Know the errors that can affect your claims

  Editor's note: This article was written by Cindy Dunne, president of ECS Billing & Consulting...