WINTER WEBINAR SCHEDULE:
CODING & COLLECTIONS WEBINARS
These webinars will be held on Thursdays PST.
Dates and times are
subject to change without notice.
Unable to attend a Webinar in person? No problem!
Purchase the CD
recordings and notes via our website and watch them again and again.
Additional information regarding the content and registration is available on our website.
California Medicare Part B
Thursday, February 13, 2013
9:00 am -11:00 am PST or 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm PST
Essential Coding for the Chiropractic Practice
Thursday, February 20, 2014 (Part I ) continued on February 27, 2014 (Part II )
9:00 am -11:00 am PST or 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm PST
California Personal Injury
Thursday, March 6, 2014
9:00 am -11:00 am PST or 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm PST
Systems for Improving Your Collections
Thursday, March 13, 2014 (Part I ) continued on March 20, 2014 (Part II )
9:00 am -11:00 am PST or 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm PST
California Workers' Compensation
Thursday, March 27, 2014
9:00 am -11:00 am PST or 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm PST
COST for these webinars vary. Please click here for additional information.
All other coding and collections webinars are
available
to purchase individually or as a package on-line.
 SYSTEMS FOR BUILDING A
SUCCESSFUL PRACTICE
(DVD and WorkshopPackage) CLEARANCE $100.00
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GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
• ICD-10 will be go into effect for everyone effective October 2014.
Check
with your local Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) or the Centers for Medicare &
Medcaid Services at www.cms.gov for informative webinars that will give you an
introduction to the new coding formats. Many of these are free.
LEARN MORE.
• 2014 CPT, HCPCS Changes, Additions and Revisions
The only significant change that I noted in the CPT 2014 is in the Radiology section. The 72040 was revised to read "radiologic examination, spine cervical; 2 or 3 views. To see a complete list of the HCPCS changes click here.
As always I recommend that you research all codes prior to using them.
• Aetna Clarifies 97140 Policy Language
According to the ACA in a notice I
received in October rationale now exists on the Navinet website under
the Payment Policy for Modifier -59 that states "Claims submitted for manual therapy techniques performed along with chiropractic manipulation on a different spinal region must be appended with modifier -59 and medical records submitted supporting additional payment."
• CCI Edits - Quarterly Update April 1, 2014 MLN Matters® Number: MM8511
Effective Date: April 1, 2014 Version 20.1 will include all previous versions and updates
from January 1, 1996, to the present. LEARN MORE.
Additional information on the CCI edits is available here.
• Meaningful Use Deadline Pushed Back One Year
As of Friday, December 6, 2013,
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a one-year extension of the
deadline for doctors and hospitals to meet standards for use of electronic health records
(EHRs). Health care providers will have until the end of 2016 to meet stage two criteria
for making meaningful use of electronic records. This pushes the stage three start date
for the earliest adopters of EHRs back one year to 2017. LEARN MORE
NATIONAL NEWS
• ACA Advocacy Results in Substantial Increase for 2014 Chiropractic CPT
Code
Press Release
Media Contacts:
Caitlin Lukacs
(703) 812-0218
Melissa Lee (703)
812-0259
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 02, 2013
"The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) learned this week that the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will increase the value of Chiropractic Manipulative
Treatment (CMT) CPT® codes up to 10 percent in the 2014 Physician Fee Schedule
beginning Jan. 1. The change comes after ACA provided CMS-appointed coding committees with
key information about the physician-level work involved in these procedures. Increasing
CMT code values is an important step forward for the profession, and is the result ACA's
long campaign to expand and increase the value of chiropractic services in Medicare. LEARN MORE
NATIONAL MEDICARE
• 2014 Medicare Premium & Deductible Rates
The Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) has published its annual update to the Medicare Part B Monthly
Actuarial Rates, Premium Rate, and Annual Deductible--as well as the Amount in Controversy
(AIC) threshold for Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Hearings & Federal District Court
Review. LEARN MORE
• 2014 Medicare Part B Deductible remains $147.00
• 2014 Medicare Fees
President Obama Signs the Pathway for SGR Reform Act of
2013 -New Law Includes Physician Update Fix through March 2014 On December 26, 2013,
President Obama signed into law the Pathway for SGR Reform Act of 2013. This new law
prevents a scheduled payment reduction for physicians and other practitioners who treat
Medicare patients from taking effect on January 1, 2014. The new law provides for a 0.5
percent update for such services through March 31, 2014. LEARN MORE
• ACA Legislative Action Results in Expansion of Coverage Under the Blue Cross
Blue Shield Federal Employees Plan According to the ACA's Governmental Affairs email
notice dated December 18, 2013, "The 2014 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan,
as authorized by the Federal Employees Health Benefits law, has announced that effective
January 1, 2014 it will "now cover any licensed medical practitioner for covered
services performed within the scope of that license, as required by Section 2706(a) of the
Public Health Service Act (PHSA). Previously, benefits for certain medical practitioners
were limited to services performed in Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs)." And it
further announced that due to such compliance with Section 2706(a): "Benefits for
chiropractic care are no longer limited to one office visit and one set of X-rays per
year." Coverage for those services will be based upon "the benefits we provide for
office visits and...for our coverage of radiological services performed by covered
professional providers." For a list of 2014 federal benefit brochures by state go to
http://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/plan-information/
• CMS Extends 2014 Annual Participation Enrollment Period
The 2014 Annual Participation Enrollment Program allows eligible physicians, practitioners
and suppliers the opportunity to change their participation status by December 31, 2013.
Due to a later than usual release of the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, CMS
is extending the 2014 annual participation enrollment period through Jan. 31,
2014.Therefore, participation elections and withdrawals must be post-marked on or before
January 31, 2014. The effective date for any participation status changes elected by
providers during the extension remains January. 1, 2014.
CALIFORNIA MEDICARE
• 2014 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Now Available The 2014 Medicare
Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) files, Adobe PDF and Microsoft Excel formats
have been published on the Noridian website.
CALIFORNIA WORKERS COMPENSATION
The Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) announced that the Goleta
District Office closed and merged with the Oxnard office on November 30, 2013.
• DWC Plans to Open Santa Barbara Satellite Office in
December, 2013 The Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) announced plans to open a
satellite office in Santa Barbara to provide access to injured workers previously served
by the Goleta district office.
The new Santa Barbara satellite office location has not yet been finalized, but is
expected to open in December. DWC staff will include a judge, an Information and
Assistance (I&A) Officer, and a secretary. Initially, hearings will be scheduled four
days a week. Additional details, including the satellite office address and hours, will be
forthcoming.
• DWC Final Qualified Medical Evaluator Regulations Now in
Effect Newsline No. 67-13 September 19, 2013 "The Office of
Administrative Law (OAL) has approved the Division of Workers' Compensation's (DWC) final
version of the Qualified Medical Evaluator regulations, one of the sections that
implements reform provisions of Senate Bill 863. The Qualified Medical Evaluator
regulations went into effect on September 16, 2013. The final regulations will not affect
any qualified medical evaluator requests currently pending with the DWC-Medical Unit. The
DWC-Medical Unit will accept all of the older forms filed with the unit until Tuesday,
October 1, 2013.
• The Office of Administrative Law (OAL) Has Approved DWC's
Final Version of Electronic Document Filing and Lien Filing Fee Rules Newsline No. 91-13 December 16, 2013 The Office of Administrative
Law (OAL) approved the electronic document filing and lien filing fee rules on December
16, 2013. The emergency regulations went into effect on January 1, 2013.
• DWC Final Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit Regulations
Approved Newsline No. 81-13
November 18, 2013 The Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has approved the Division of
Workers' Compensation's (DWC) final version of the Supplemental Job Displacement Benefit
(SJDB) regulations. OAL approved the SJDB regulations on November 8. Two sections have
been repealed (10133.51 and 10133.52, which required the Notice of Potential Right to SJDB
Benefit), effective immediately. The modifications to the remaining sections are effective
on January 1, 2014. LEARN MORE
• DWC Will No Longer Collect Lien Activation Fees Newsline
No. 80-13 November 15, 2013
In compliance with a ruling issued Tuesday by the U.S. District Court for the Central
District of California in the matter of Angelotti Chiropractic, Inc., et al. v. Baker, et
al., the Division of Workers' Compensation will no longer collect lien activation fees as
of November 19, 2013.
Further updates on changes will be posted on the DWC SB 863 pages. LEARN
MORE
• NEW FEE SCHEDULE
RBRVS Regulations Filed with Secretary of State, Become Effective January 1, 2014
Newsline 69-13 October 1, 2013. The Division of Workers'
Compensation (DWC) will begin using a resource-based relative value scale (RBRVS) based
physician fee schedule in 2014, following acceptance by the Office of Administrative Law
(OAL). The adopted Physician Fee Schedule regulations are effective January 1, 2014, and
will be applicable for services rendered on or after January 1, 2014.
NEW CONTACT INFORMATION
• I have moved my office effective January 14, 2014.
The new mailing address is:
P.O. Box 581
Petaluma, California 94953-0581
The new phone number is: (707) 778-0861
The new fax number is: (855) 898-0627
I look forward to serving you from my new location.
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Keeping a Watchful Eye on the Chiropractic
Industry
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