Thursday, March 24, 2022
- Additional Residency Positions: Apply by March 31
- Long-term Care Hospitals: March Preview Period Ends April 6
- Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities: March Preview Period Ends April 6
- Home Health Quality Reporting Program: Review Your Preview Reports
- Physicians, Teaching Hospitals, Physician Assistants, & Advanced Practice Nurses: Register in the Open Payments System
- Long-term Care Facilities: Quality Measure Rating Threshold Changes
- Lipid Panel Testing: Comparative Billing Report in March
- April Quarterly Update for 2022 Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) Fee Schedule
- Quarterly Update to the End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System (ESRD PPS)
News
Additional Residency Positions: Apply by March 31
You can apply online for additional residency positions (PDF) under Section 126 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Submit fiscal year 2023 applications no later than March 31, 2022. For details, see Section 126: Distribution of Additional Residency Positions section of the Direct Graduate Medical Education webpage.
Long-term Care Hospitals: March Preview Period Ends April 6
Contact CMS by April 6 if you have questions about scores in the preview reports we reissued March 7. Visit the Updates section of the Public Reporting webpage to learn more.
Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities: March Preview Period Ends April 6
Contact CMS by April 6 if you have questions about scores in the preview reports we reissued March 7. Visit the Updates section of the Public Reporting webpage for more information.
Home Health Quality Reporting Program: Review Your Preview Reports
Review your April 2022 refresh Provider Preview reports that CMS sent in the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) on February 23. A system issue may affect the values for services provided, so carefully review these values.
If they’re incorrect, ask your State Automation or State Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) Education Coordinator to update your data in iQIES. For other questions, contact the iQIES Help Desk at 800-339-9313 or iQIES@cms.hhs.gov.
Physicians, Teaching Hospitals, Physician Assistants, & Advanced Practice Nurses: Register in the Open Payments System
Register in the Open Payments system, so you can participate in upcoming program activities, like the review and dispute of program year 2021 data beginning in April.
If you previously registered, you don’t need to register again. If it’s been more than 180 days since you accessed your account, call the Open Payments help desk to reactivate it.
More Information:
Visit the Resources for Covered Recipients webpage
Send questions to the help desk at openpayments@cms.hhs.gov or 855-326-8366 (TTY: 844-649-2766)
Long-term Care Facilities: Quality Measure Rating Threshold Changes
With the April Care Compare refresh, CMS will increase long-term care facility quality measure thresholds by 50% of the average rate of improvement. We’ll also release a new Five-Star Quality Rating System Technical Users Guide. Review the State Survey Agency Directors Memorandum for more information (PDF).
Lipid Panel Testing: Comparative Billing Report in March
In late March, CMS will issue a Comparative Billing Report (CBR) on Medicare Part B claims for lipid panel testing. Use the data-driven report to compare your billing practices with those of peers in your state and across the nation.
CBRs aren’t publicly available. Look for an email from cbrpepper.noreply@religroupinc.com to access your report. Update your email address in the Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System to ensure delivery.
More Information:
- View a webinar recording
- Visit the CBR website
- Register for a live webinar on April 13 from 3–4 pm ET
Compliance
DMEPOS Standard Written Order Requirements
Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers — follow requirements for Standard Written Orders (SWOs):
- Keep a SWO from the treating practitioner on file
- Get the SWO before submitting a claim for all DMEPOS items
- Get the SWO before delivery for certain items
- Submit completed SWOs for all DMEPOS services billed if there’s an audit
Review 42 CFR 410.38 and MLN Matters Article SE20007 (PDF) to learn what elements to include on the order and related documentation:
- Beneficiary name or Medicare beneficiary identifier
- General description of the item
- Quantity you’ll dispense, if applicable
- Order date
- Treating practitioner name or national provider identifier
- Treating practitioner signature
More information:
- Standard Documentation Requirements for All Claims Submitted to DME Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) local coverage article
- Find SWO final rule FAQs on your MAC’s website: Noridian Jurisdiction (J) A & JD, CGS JB & JC
Claims, Pricers, & Codes
ICD-10 Procedure Codes: Comment by April 8
April 8 is the deadline for comments on proposed ICD-10 procedure codes and revisions for the October 1, 2022, implementation date. Send your comments to ICDProcedureCodeRequest@cms.hhs.gov.
Review information from the March ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meeting, including:
ICD-10 Diagnosis Codes: Comment by May 9
May 9 is the deadline for comments on proposed ICD-10 diagnosis codes and revisions for the October 1, 2022, implementation date. Send your comments to nchsicd10cm@cdc.gov.
Review information from the March ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee Meeting, including recording, agenda, materials, and presentations.
MLN Matters® Articles
April Quarterly Update for 2022 Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) Fee Schedule
Quarterly Update to the End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System (ESRD PPS)
Learn about the transitional drug add-on payment adjustment for difelikefalin injection (PDF).
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