ASC Coding, Billing & Collections

CMS' 2019 final payment rule for ASCs and hospital outpatient surgery departments included a new code allowing separate payments to ASCs that use Pacira Pharmaceuticals' non-opioid pain management drug, Exparel.

Following months of termination threats and legal disputes between the two companies, Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealthcare agreed to extend its nationwide payer contract with Nashville, Tenn.-based Envision (AmSurg) Healthcare.

Elkton, Md.-based physician Zahid Aslam, MD, pleaded guilty Nov. 30 to making a materially false statement in a loan application, and a medical business he owned pleaded guilty to one count of healthcare fraud.

Billing mistakes can affect a surgery center's bottom line, according to Regent Revenue Cycle Management:

U.S. House Representative Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill., introduced a bill called the "Hospital Price Transparency and Disclosure Act of 2018" July 25.

The prices of common outpatient and inpatient procedures at every Oregon hospital are now available online, KTVZ.com reports.

ASCs have an inherent value proposition when negotiating new contracts or renegotiating existing contracts, according to Healthcents CEO Steve Selbst.

Paul Madison, MD, was convicted of healthcare fraud, aggravated identity theft and lying about medical treatment delivery after directing staff to fraudulently bill for procedures at the surgery center where he practiced, according to a Chicago Sun Times report.

Fultondale, Ala. physician Paul Roberts, MD, is accused of unlawfully prescribing controlled substances while participating in a healthcare fraud scheme with two other men, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Alabama.

There's no horsing around when it comes to animal-related injuries.