2024-09-26-MLNC

Millions of people in the U.S. have high cholesterol, which increases their risk for heart disease and stroke (see CDC). World Heart Day is the perfect time to talk with your patients about cardiovascular disease screening and managing their cholesterol levels.

Medicare covers cardiovascular disease screening tests, and your patients pay nothing if you accept assignment. Find out when your patient is eligible for a screening. If you need help, contact your eligibility service provider.

More Information:

Million Hearts® website
Hypertension (PDF), Stroke (PDF), and Heart Failure (PDF) data snapshots: Learn about disparities among Medicare patients
Cardiovascular disease screenings: Get information for your patients

Claims, Pricers, & Codes

Cardiology CPT Code 75580: Issue with Claims Returned to Provider

CMS recently identified a revenue code issue that caused certain claims for CPT code 75580 (diagnostic radiology procedures of the heart) with 2024 dates of service to incorrectly return to provider.

We corrected this issue. If your claims were incorrectly returned, you can resubmit them.

Events

Optimizing Healthcare Delivery to Improve Patient Lives Conference — December 12

Thursday, December 12, 2024

CMS will convene change makers from the health care community and federal government to share new ideas, lessons learned, and best practices to reduce administrative burden and strengthen access to quality care.

MLN Matters® Articles

DMEPOS Fee Schedule: October 2024 Quarterly Update

Learn about fee schedule updates (PDF):

Fee schedule amounts for new and existing codes
Revised fee schedule amounts for A4271

Hospice Claims Edits for Certifying Physicians — Revised

CMS added an exception to the edit logic (PDF) for when a nurse practitioner or physician assistant is serving as an attending.

Inpatient & Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System: FY 2025 Changes — Revised

CMS corrected the number of deleted and total Medicare Severity - Diagnosis Related Groups (PDF) for FY 2025.

Publications

Expanded Prepayment Review of Existing Hospices in Arizona, California, Nevada, & Texas

Learn about the expanded prepayment review and related activities (PDF) for existing hospices in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Texas:

What’s the goal and how this affects you
What type of review we’ll perform
How we’ll notify you
When it starts
Where to get more information

Multimedia

Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System: Reporting Labor Information Video

CMS posted a video on Reporting Labor Information in the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System (GADCS) (11:51). This video provides a quick overview of the requirements to report staffing and labor costs (Section 7) in the Medicare GADCS.

From Our Federal Partners

Prevention Strategies for U.S. Travelers Visiting Countries with Clade I Mpox Outbreaks

The CDC issued this Health Alert Network Health Update to provide additional information about the ongoing outbreak of clade I monkeypox virus (MPXV), the virus that causes mpox, in Central and Eastern Africa.

Active monitoring for mpox continues to occur in the U.S. Although the U.S. continues to be affected by an ongoing global outbreak of clade II mpox that began in 2022, no domestic cases of clade I mpox have been identified in the U.S. at this time. Continue to follow CDC’s current vaccine guidance to prevent clade II MPXV infection, which continues to circulate in the U.S., and will also help protect against clade I MPXV.

See the full Health Update for more information, including recommendations for clinicians and public health practitioners.

Health Care Preparedness Resources

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response's Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (ASPR TRACIE) released new and updated health care preparedness resources, which could help you comply with some of the CMS emergency preparedness requirements:

Extreme Weather and Healthcare: Lessons Learned and Considerations for the Future The Exchange, Issue 19: highlights lessons learned and strategies for planning and responding to extreme weather hazards (for example, burns and other injuries related to extreme heat, flooding, utility outages, and other infrastructure failures)
Workplace Violence Considerations Speaker Series: features presentations from facility staff discussing their experiences with armed assailant planning and incidents
Volunteer Management Topic Collection: includes resources to assist health care facilities with incorporating volunteers into their disaster management plans

More Information:

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