Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Some red tape cut

Regulatory changes from federal agencies do not always add a burden. The Dept. of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have responded to concerns from the American Medical Association and other organized medicine groups to provide some administrative relief — or to back off earlier plans to increase regulation. Some examples from 2012 and 2013:
·         A final rule increasing Medicare enrollment requirements excluded referrals to physician specialists, which could have created significant billing disruptions at practices.
·         CMS rescinded a “one best medical record” policy, under which Medicare Advantage auditors imposed cumbersome demands on physician practices, and it revised its methodology to reduce the regulatory burden.
·         Practices subject to the Medicare value-based modifier starting in 2015 have been designated as those with 100 physicians or more, instead of those with at least 25 physicians as under an initial proposal.
·         HHS adopted uniform operating rules for eligibility and claims status electronic transactions as well as standards for funds transfers and remittance advice, as required by the Affordable Care Act.
·         CMS extended a grace period by delaying enforcement of its new 5010 standard for electronic transactions an additional six months.
Source: American Medical Association
http://www.amednews.com/article/20130527/government/130529945/4/?goback=%2Egde_1026757_member_244766822

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