ASC Coding, Billing & Collections

Medicare has tentatively decided that it will not cover virtual colonscopies, citing inadequate evidence that it is an effective test for colorectal cancer, according to an announcement on the CMS Web site and a report in the New York Times.

The number of uninsured Americans will rise from 45 million in 2009 to 54 million in 2019, according to Senate testimony by Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf.

Medical device maker NeuroMetrix has agreed to pay $3.7 million to settle federal allegations that it gave kickbacks to physicians, according to news releases from the U.S. Attorney's Office and NeuroMetrix.

The American Medical Association (AMA), along with several state medical associations, have filed two separate class-action lawsuits against Aetna Health and CIGNA Corp. alleging that the companies underpaid physicians using flawed billing practices, according to an AMA news release.

Highmark and Independence Blue Cross in Pennsylvania have dropped their merger proposal, withdrawing their applications to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.

Q: When coding neoplasms, I have always waited to receive the pathology report to report a diagnosis on the UB-04. I was taught to wait because the proper diagnosis of the neoplasm and the size of the specimen is needed…

Here are 96 questions in 23 categories you should address when considering and reviewing managed care contracts.

Here are 10 key principles to follow when you are contracting with third-party payors.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a final rule that replaces the ICD-9-CM code set with ICD-10 code sets.

Here are 10 common mistakes that ASCs often make in third-party payor and patient billing, from Caryl Serbin, RN, BSN, LHRM, president and founder, and Judith English, vice president of business, of Serbin Surgery Center Billing and Surgery Consultants of…