Claims Processing
Healthcare providers are going to be penalized after the ICD-10 compliance deadline. Not because they are filing claims wrong, but simply "because the system has changed," says one U.S. Senator.
In what looks like it might be becoming a trend, another health plan has been targeted with a "sophisticated cyberattack," with hackers gaining access to the financial and medical information of 11 million members.
"CMS is ready for ICD-10," said outgoing Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner this week, pointing to 660 providers and billing companies that submitted some 15,000 test claims.
Most physician practices are now convinced that the ICD-10 transition will finally happen on Oct. 1, 2015. But just 21 percent say they're on track with their preparations for the switchover.
For physicians in small practices, it turns out the cost of moving from ICD-9 to ICD-10 is much less than anticipated, according to a new study released today by the Professional Association of Health Care Office Management.
Analytics tools are increasingly being deployed across healthcare, but in few places are investments in those technologies more important than at small and rural hospitals.
The collections process is ripe for innovation, on both the payer and provider side. Increasingly, savvy providers are using health IT to broaden their access to and knowledge about their patient populations, with an eye toward greater success with bill collection.
A Mississippi health system and three hospitals in Texas, Indiana and Alabama are illustrating how hospitals can thrive, even in a tough economic environment. One hospital increased its revenue by $8.2 million after improving clinical documentation. Another changed the way it collected for services and boosted revenue by $6.1 million.
By mining state Medicaid data and utilizing a population health platform, the Wyoming Department of Health was able to slash its Medicaid-related emergency room visits by 20 percent in a one-year period.
The revised compliance date for providers, payers and clearinghouses to transition to ICD-10 has been finalized by the Department of Health and Human Services. It's Oct. 1, 2015 -- just 14 months from today.