May 2, 2008 Genius Solutions Conference Call recording on-line
The recording of the May 2, 2008 Genius Solutions First Friday of the Month Conference Call is available here in MP3 format.
See you June 6, 2008 at 10:00 Eastern time for the next one.
When billing chiropractic claims, include all required documentation BCBSM
Our support team here at Genius Solutions has received numerous inquiries regarding the “When billing chiropractic claims, include all required documentation” article on page 31 of the May 2008 issue of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s The Record .
The BCBSM article goes on to explain documentation guidelines for 97012 Mechanical Traction, and lists bullet points to include in the documentation of such services. The title has created much confusion, so we contacted Billing, Coding, and Documentation Consultant, Dr. Ted A. Arkfeld of Advanced Compliance Technologies, PLLC for further clarification.
Dr. Arkfeld states that this article has nothing to do whatsoever with actual billing and coding information to be placed on claim forms. It is directed solely towards documentation requirements for your initial and established examinations, and daily notes. The bullets listed must be noted in your case file in order to substantiate what type of traction was utilized, in what anatomical area, the settings (pounds of pull, static, or intermittent traction), and time. A key component of the documentation must clearly illustrate the medical necessity of using this treatment application.
If your practice was to be targeted and subsequently audited, detailed documentation of why you elected to utilize mechanical traction can mitigate possible repayment of large sums of monies. For further information on this and other compliance related topics, you may contact Dr. Arkfeld at tarkfeld@arkfeldcompliance.com.
CMS will Host NPI National Roundtable Q&A Session on May 19, 2008
CMS will host a national NPI Roundtable Q&A session to address questions from the Medicare provider community prior to May 23rd. This Roundtable will be on May 19th from 2-3:30PM EDT. Questions will not be collected during the registration process for this call. There will be no presentations during this call; we will open the lines to take questions following a brief introduction. For registration details, visit (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalProvIdentStand/Downloads/listserv_wording_5-19-08_call.pdf) on the CMS website. You can register for this call at http://www2.eventsvc.com/palmettogba/051908.
CMS to Host NPI Roundtable on May 14th, 2008
CMS will host a national NPI Roundtable to address additional questions from the Medicare provider community regarding Medicare's NPI implementation. The Roundtable will be on May 14th from 2-3:30PM EDT. Providers will be able to submit questions through the online registration system at the time of sign up for the call. For registration details, visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalProvIdentStand/Downloads/listserv_wording_5-14-08_call.pdf on the CMS NPI Web page. You can register for the call at http://www2.eventsvc.com/palmettogba/051408 .
Genius Solutions First Friday of the Month Conference Call May 2, 2008
The May Genius Solutions First Friday of the Month Conference Call is scheduled for May 2, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time.
Planned topics for the conference call (so far) are:
The NPI Only deadline is May 23. What is going to happen?
Should you test "NPI Only" right now? Learn how to test with our online video.
NPI Only: What payors are working? Which are not?
General interest questions and answers from the listeners. 5* to raise/lower your hand.
Final comments
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Dial-In Conference Number 1-712-432-3000
Conference Bridge Number: 478288
Please note, it sometimes takes up to a minute to ring through and get prompted for the bridge number.
We plan to also host a "Webinar" at the same time, so if you have high speed Internet you can watch Genius' computer screen while you listen to the call.
To join the webinar you will need to register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/153941771 as soon as possible. After you register, a link will be emailed to you. This link is used to join the webinar at 10:00 a.m. on 5/2/4008. We recommend trying to join the webinar about 10 minutes before the webinar is scheduled.
We hope you find the Webinar Web Site easy to use. We may talk about connecting to the webinar at the beginning of the Conference Call to see how you did and possibly have some last minute tips for those having difficulty connecting. The webinar does not play the audio, you still need to dial into the conference call number.
Even if you do not have high speed internet, or can't get the webinar to work on your computer, you can still hear the audio portion with the Dial-In Conference Number, just as all the previous conference calls have worked.
As always, we will try to record the conference for those who can not attend in person and make it available on our News Page a couple of days later.
The next scheduled Genius Solutions First Friday of the Month Conference Call will be June 6, 2008
How to Test NPI Only training video online
With Medicare and others recommending testing claims with NPI Only (no legacy provider numbers) Genius is recommending billers begin trying a couple of claims with NPI only. To help you get started here is a link for eTHOMAS and one for dTHOMAS/THOMAS-Lite.
New phone menu choice at Genius
We have updated the opening phone message options when you call us during business hours. If you choose option 7 you should hear this message:
Genius Solutions is recommending you get ready before the May 23, 2008 NPI deadline. For more information please visit our website, www.geniussolutions.com and click on the "NPI NOW" link on the right hand side. You can find all of the following information on our web site.
In order to be ready for NPI only, most people will need an Organizational NPI for their business, and, an Individual NPI for each provider. Only a very few providers would not need an Organizational NPI.
When you obtained your NPIs you should have filled in your legacy billing provider numbers at the NPPES Enumerator's web site. You should have put your group numbers on your Organizational NPI, and your individual bill pin provider numbers on your Individual NPI.
You should then Register your NPI where you send your electronic claims. In some cases this will require you to fill out Enrollment Paperwork with your payor. Please talk to your payor's Provider and EDI departments directly to ensure they are ready for you to use your NPI numbers.
You can then fill in your NPI numbers in your THOMAS program and begin testing your payers for NPI only. You can control which insurance companies are NPI only in your Insurance Code File screen by setting the NPI Indicator to NPI Only. We recommend only one or two Medicare claims to start with, then a few Blue Shield, then commercial payors. Please make certain you set the NPI Indicator back to its original setting after preparing only a couple of NPI Only claims. You should pay careful attention that your NPI Only claims are processing correctly before sending large numbers of NPI only claims; you can do this by sending only a few to start with.
Your goal is to be able to successfully send claims as NPI only before May 23, 2008.
For more information on sending claims as NPI only, please visit www.geniussolutions.com, then click the NPI NOW link on the right, then look for How to Test NPI Only Training Video. Please visit the Genius News page from time to time as we approach this deadline.
From time to time we send email alerts. If you have not received an email from us lately, please let us know what your email address is, or check your spam folder and add us to your address book.
We will post more information on our News page as it becomes available.
Michigan WPS medicare 835 problem?
One of our clients is reporting she has not received a Medicare 835 payment report since April 14th. She states that BCBSM EDI told her they are investigating the issue and are not sure yet of the resolution. The biller did report she is still getting her electronic deposits.
This is only the Payment Report, not 277 or 997 rejections. Hopefully this will be sorted out in a couple of days. It appears no change is necessary to THOMAS.
HAP claims - A3 122 Rejected at clearinghouse billing provider secondary identification number qualifier is missing or invalid (38224)
Genius believes a change with BCBSM's clearinghouse caused some HAP claims to reject with "A3 122 Rejected at clearinghouse billing provider secondary identification number qualifier is missing or invalid (38224)"
We are told by HAP that BCBSM has already made changes to correct the erroneous rejections, and you will have to rebill the claims.
Genius recommends you consider waiting a day or two for the dust to settle down. Hopefully BCBSM EDI will publish a Broadcast Bulletin clarifying the status.
At this time there is no reason to change anything in THOMAS.
April 2008 First Friday Conference Call Recording Available
For those of you that did not make the First Friday of the Month Conference Call on 4/4/2008 , you can
