CMS to hold claims until April to avert reimbursement cuts

During the American Chiropractic Association’s (ACA) annual House of Delegates meeting in February, delegates passed resolutions supporting key elements in scopes of practice and the creation of the ACA College of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Based on membership responses, these policy resolutions have proven quite positive. To no one’s surprise, however, other organizations and special interest groups have associated these policies with “incorporating drugs into the scope of chiropractic practice and promoting the term chiropractic medicine.”

New York Chiropractic College will host the Winter 2015 Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, April 4, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. The ceremony will be held in the NYCC Athletic Center and doors open to the public at 9:00 a.m.

Calling all members!

We are hard at work in Albany working on the legislative priorities for the profession. One of our main legislative initiatives has been passage of a bill that would allow doctors of chiropractic to form partnerships with medical doctors.  

Calling all members!

We are hard at work in Albany working on the legislative priorities for the profession. One of our main legislative initiatives has been passage of a bill that would allow doctors of chiropractic to form partnerships with medical doctors.  

Providers in Connecticut (98941), Queens, NY (98940), Downstate NY (98941) and Upstate NY (98941)

National Government Services’ Medical Review Department is currently conducting a prepayment review on JK Part B chiropractic services in the states of CT and NY. This article includes the results of these reviews for September, October, November and December 2014.

The CMS just blinked in the ongoing cold war between providers and the agency over meaningful-use requirements for electronic health-record systems.

The CMS announced Thursday that it is considering proposals to shorten the meaningful-use reporting period to 90 days in 2015, something providers and others have been requesting. 

Shortening the period essentially means providers can meet the meaningful-use requirements and avoid financial penalties with software in place for less time than is currently required.

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, a key advocate for changes in the reporting period, was positive about the announcement. “It is indeed” what the organization was looking for, said Jeff Smith, the organization's vice president of public policy. 

In a separate statement, Russ Branzell, CHIME's president and CEO, said, “Meaningful use has the potential to be a transformative program for the nation's healthcare delivery system and we commend CMS for recognizing the need for a course-correction.”

The Medical Group Management Association and the American Medical Association praised the CMS for agreeing to modify the window, and they urged the agency to issue the new rule quickly. The MGMA noted that the number of physicians who have attested to meeting the program's Stage 2 requirements dropped sharply from the number who cleared the first bar.The AMA, meanwhile, also took a broader swipe at the program, saying that it fails to "help physicians improve care for their patients." 

The CMS also is considering changing reporting periods to the calendar year to “allow eligible hospitals more time to incorporate 2014 Edition software into their workflows and to better align with other CMS quality programs,” and will “modify other aspects of the program” that may lessen providers' reporting burdens. 

The CMS clarified that the rulemaking on reporting period flexibility will be separate from the upcoming third-stage meaningful-use rule, which may be released in March. 

The changes may mollify calls from providers and legislators to change reporting periods. Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) and 29 fellow House Republicans had sent a letter to Sylvia Matthews Burwell grousing about the reporting periods in the program. Bipartisan legislation also had been introduced by Ellmers and then-Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) to change the reporting periods. 

Follow Darius Tahir on Twitter: @dariustahir

Please review these instructions for how to access the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS)

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) mandated that non-participation or unsuccessful/unsatisfactory reporting in Medicare’s Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), formerly referred to as PQRI, will result in negative payment adjustments to Medicare reimbursement beginning in 2015. In the 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) ruled that providers who did not successfully/satisfactorily participate in PQRS by the 2013 reporting period will have their Medicare reimbursement decreased by 1.5 percent beginning on January 1, 2015. Non-participation or unsuccessful/ unsatisfactory reporting during the 2014 performance period will result in a 2% reduction in a provider's 2016 Medicare reimbursement, and further non-participation or unsuccessful/unsatisfactory reporting this year (Jan. 1 -  Dec. 31, 2015) will affect a provider's 2017 Medicare reimbursement by applying a payment reduction of 2%.

The 2015 Medicare fee schedule has not yet been finalized. Once it is finalized, there will be a number of different fee schedules depending on your practice’s location, PQRS participation, and EHR/Meaningful Use participation. We will keep you informed as updates become available.