ASC Coding, Billing & Collections

Here are six tips from ambulatory surgery center experts on optimizing billing operations and reducing claim denials from commercial payors.

In an effort to reduce administrative burdens on hospitals and other providers, CMS has reduced the minimum medical record requests from Medicare Recovery Auditors — formerly known as Recovery Audit Contractors, or RACs.

When President Barack Obama's budget proposal is released next Wednesday, Medicaid will not be among the many line items to shrink since last year, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Dallas-based Surgical Notes, an ambulatory surgery center transcription and coding provider, has developed an internal coding application for its clients that aims to reduce accounts receivable days and eliminate data entry errors.

House Republicans have proposed a plan that would slowly shift Medicare reimbursement to a combination of fee-for-service and pay-for-performance, according to a Medscape Medical News report.

Learning to code in conjunction with an electronic medical record is vital for most practices to remain compliant and up-to-date; however, templates must first be sharpened and honed, according to AAPC.

A bill introduced to the House of Representatives would offer an electronic health record penalty exemption to near retirement-age physicians who fail to adopt systems, according Medscape.

CMS updated its national coverage determination edits — what Medicare will cover — to factor in ICD-10 codes, according to ICD-10 Watch.

California's 2012 workers' compensation regulatory changes could bring decreased payments for ambulatory surgery centers services, according to a Workers Compensation Research Institute study.

1. Present your patient satisfaction scores during payor negotiations. "Put your best foot forward" and present your patient satisfaction scores upfront, said Reed Martin, chief operating officer for Surgical Management Professionals. He said it's important to have patient satisfaction as…