ASC Coding, Billing & Collections

Preparing for the additional codes of ICD-10 can seem daunting, but analyzing codes you use for ICD-9 is a place to start, according to PhysBizTech.

SK&A released its report titled, "Physician Office Acceptance Government Insurance Programs," which showed 83.6 percent of medical providers accept Medicare and 67 percent accept Medicaid, though a decline may be imminent.

Ambulatory surgery centers are now able to bring spine procedures — including spinal fusions — into the outpatient setting. However, some ASCs are having a hard time finding payors who will reimburse for those procedures.

Tammy Luttenberger is the billing and collections manager for Hudson Valley Ambulatory Surgical Center in Middletown, N.Y., and Andrea Clark is the CEO of Health Revenue Assurance Holdings in Plantation, Fla.

Tamara Wagner, vice president of coding at National Medical Billing Services, will present at the Ambulatory Surgery Center Associations' Winter Coding Seminar.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will not fully reimburse states that embark on only partial Medicaid system expansions.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently released statistics on the amount of money collected by this year's Recovery Audit Contractors, and showed $2.29 billion in overpayments from providers, three times more than last year, according to Medical Billing…

Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health is consolidating its separate computer systems for billing and medical records in an attempt to increase administrative efficiency, according to the Sacramento Business Journal.

Overall reimbursements for ambulatory surgery centers may be dropping, but through a combination of effective business management and savvy contract negotiations, ASCs can still make money in the upcoming year.

The Medicare 90-day global period actually includes 92 days, and providers must document transfer of care to get appropriately paid for post-operative work, according to AAPC.