Navigating the Importance of the Diagnosis in the Audit Landscape

January 12, 2024 | Kimberly Jolivette Williams, CPC, CPB, CPMA, CPC-I, CANPC, CCC, CEMC Navigating the Importance of the Diagnosis in the Audit Landscape: In our complex and evolving healthcare business landscape, where financial integrity and regulatory compliance are paramount, medical audits stand as a critical tool for safeguarding the fiscal health of medical practices and…

Do Claim Denials and Offsets Fail To Align With Claims Handling Compliance Requirements?

January 26, 2024 | By: Karlene Dittrich, CBCS, CPC, CPMA, CECCS | Certified ERISA/PPACA Claims Handling Compliance & Appeal Specialist The most common question I am asked in my seminars sharing relevant laws that support claims handling compliance requirements is: “But what about my contract?”  Insurance companies write payer contracts in a way that leaves…

Modifier 25: Optimizing E&M and Same-Day Procedure Coding

January 5, 2024 | By Victoria Moll, CPC, COC, CPMA, CRC, CPFC, CPRC, AAPC Approved Instructor, Fellow CEO, Contempo Coding The strategic use of Modifier 25, particularly when dealing with same-day procedures within global periods, is essential. Throughout my career, I’ve seen multiple colleagues working on claim edits and would cheerfully apply whatever modifier the…

Removing Ambiguity from CMS’s In-Home HRA Guidance: Lessons from Cigna’s $172 Million False Claims Act Settlement

December 22, 2023 | By: Edward Baker, Of Counsel | Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein On September 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a $172 million False Claims Act (FCA) settlement with Cigna relating to the submission of invalid HCC diagnosis codes to CMS in order to increase Medicare Advantage member risk scores, and therefore,…

A Three-Year Wait Ends but raises questions of simplicity versus complexity

December 29, 2023 | By Laidy Diana Martinez CPC, CPB, CPMA, CGSC, CGIC, CASCC January 2024 Marks the Arrival of G2211: A Three-Year Wait Ends but raises questions of simplicity versus complexity. Though G2211 isn’t a new concept, it has been on hold due to congressional decisions for the past three years.  Finally, in January…

Problems Addressed During an Encounter

  December 15, 2023 | By Stephanie Allard, CPC, CEMA, RHIT One area that keeps coming up in my conversations and education sessions is the definition and understanding, or misunderstanding, of the concept of a “problem addressed” during an encounter and how that is applied to E/M services. As treating practitioners document and as we…