Pharmacist compensation for ambulatory patient care services.
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This activity is designed for pharmacists practicing in ambulatory, community, and managed care environments. GOAL: To discuss issues involved in the transition from product-based to patient-care-based reimbursement and compensation systems for pharmacists. OBJECTIVES: 1. Differentiate between reimbursement and compensation. 2. Describe the limitations of current third-party reimbursement and compensation systems. 3. Describe ways in which compensation for seemingly identical products and services can vary. 4. Discuss the use of Medicare's Resource-Based Value Scale and the relative value unit. 5. Define and differentiate between ICD-9-CM codes and E/M CPT codes. 6. List the three key components needed to determine an E/M CPT code for a new patient seen in the pharmacy. 7. Describe and provide examples of the SOAP method of documentation. 8. Understand why the referral process is an important step in the compensation process. 9. Discuss the importance of Form HCFA-1500 and other documentation in the compensation process. (+info)
Health care reform in Japan: the virtues of muddling through.
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Japan's universal and egalitarian health care system helps to keep its population healthy at an exceptionally low cost. Its financing and delivery systems have been adapted over the years in a gradual way that preserves balance. In particular, its mandatory fee schedule has proved to be effective in controlling spending by manipulating prices. Today, with severe fiscal problems, pressures are mounting for more radical reforms. However, these proposals attack the wrong problems and are impractical. Real problems include inequitable health insurance financing and insufficient regard for quality of hospital care. We suggest incremental reforms that would improve these situations. (+info)
Trends in Medicaid physician fees, 1993-1998.
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This study uses data on Medicaid physician fees in 1993 and 1998 to document variation in fees across the country, describe changes in these fees, and contrast how they changed relative to those in Medicare. The results show that 1998 Medicaid fees varied widely. Medicaid fees grew 4.6 percent between 1993 and 1998, lagging behind the general rate of inflation. This growth was greater for primary care services than for other services studied. Relative to Medicare physician fees, Medicaid fees fell by 14.3 percent between 1993 and 1998. Medicaid's low fees and slow growth rates suggest that potential access problems among Medicaid enrollees remain a policy issue that should be monitored. (+info)
Medicare program; replacement of reasonable charge methodology by fee schedules for parenteral and enteral nutrients, equipment, and supplies. Final rule.
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This final rule implements fee schedules for payment of parenteral and enteral nutrition (PEN) items and services furnished under the prosthetic device benefit, defined in section 1861(s)(8) of the Social Security Act. The authority for establishing these fee schedules is provided by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which amended the Social Security Act at section 1842(s). Section 1842(s) of the Social Security Act specifies that statewide or other area wide fee schedules may be implemented for the following items and services still subject to the reasonable charge payment methodology: medical supplies; home dialysis supplies and equipment; therapeutic shoes; parenteral and enteral nutrients, equipment, and supplies; electromyogram devices; salivation devices; blood products; and transfusion medicine. This final rule describes changes made to the proposed fee schedule payment methodology for these items and services and provides that the fee schedules for PEN items and services are effective for all covered items and services furnished on or after January 1, 2002. Fee schedules will not be implemented for electromyogram devices and salivation devices at this time since these items are not covered by Medicare. In addition, fee schedules will not be implemented for medical supplies, home dialysis supplies and equipment, therapeutic shoes, blood products, and transfusion medicine at this time since the data required to establish these fee schedules are inadequate. (+info)
Medicare program; civil money penalties, assessments, and revised sanction authorities. Final rule with comment period.
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This final rule with comment period is a technical rule that updates our civil money penalty (CMP) regulations to add CMP authorities already enacted as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) and delegated to us. The rule delineates our authority to assess penalties for: failure to bill outpatient therapy services or comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation services (CORS) on an assignment-related basis, failure to bill ambulance services on an assignment-related basis, failure to provide an itemized statement for Medicare items and services to a Medicare beneficiary upon his/her request, and failure of physicians or nonphysician practitioners to provide diagnostic codes for items or services they furnish or failure to provide this information to the entity furnishing the item or service ordered by the practitioner. The rule also contains technical changes to further conform our current CMP rules to changes in the statute enacted by the BBA. (+info)
Medicare program; revisions to payment policies and five-year review of and adjustments to the relative value units under the physician fee schedule for calendar year 2002. Final rule with comment period.
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This final rule with comment period makes several changes affecting Medicare Part B payment. The changes affect: refinement of resource-based practice expense relative value units (RVUs); services and supplies incident to a physician's professional service;anesthesia base unit variations;recognition of CPT tracking codes; and nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and clinical nurse specialists performing screening sigmoidoscopies. It also addresses comments received on the June 8, 2001 proposed notice for the 5-year review of work RVUs and finalizes these work RVUs. In addition,we acknowledge comments received on our request for information on our policy for CPT modifier 62 that is used to report the work of co-surgeons. The rule also updates the list of certain services subject to the physician self-referral prohibitions to reflect changes to CPT codes and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System codes effective January 1, 2002. These refinements and changes will ensure that our payment systems are updated to reflect changes in medical practice and the relative value of services. The Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 modernizes the mammography screening benefit and authorizes payment under the physician fee schedule effective January 1, 2002; provides for biennial screening pelvic examinations for certain beneficiaries effective July 1, 2001; provides for annual glaucoma screenings for high-risk beneficiaries effective January 1,2002; expands coverage for screening colonoscopies to all beneficiaries effective July 1, 2001; establishes coverage for medical nutrition therapy services for certain beneficiaries effective January 1, 2002; expands payment for telehealth services effective October 1, 2001; requires certain Indian Health Service providers to be paid for some services under the physician fee schedule effective July 1, 2001; and revises the payment for certain physician pathology services effective January 1, 2001. This final rule will conform our regulations to reflect these statutory provisions. In addition, we are finalizing the calendar year (CY) 2001 interim RVUs and are issuing interim RVUs for new and revised procedure codes for calendar year (CY) 2002. As required by the statute, we are announcing that the physician fee schedule update for CY2002 is -4.8 percent, the initial estimate of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) for CY 2002 is 5.6 percent, and the conversion factor for CY 2002 is $36.1992. (+info)
Medicare program; fee schedule for payment of ambulance services and revisions to the physician certification requirements for coverage of nonemergency ambulance services. Final rule with comment period.
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This final rule establishes a fee schedule for the payment of ambulance services under the Medicare program, implementing section 1834(l) of the Social Security Act. As required by that section, the proposed rule on which this final fee schedule for ambulance services is based was the product of a negotiated rulemaking process that was carried out consistent with the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990. The fee schedule described in this final rule will replace the current retrospective reasonable cost payment system for providers and the reasonable charge system for suppliers of ambulance services. In addition, this final rule requires that ambulance suppliers accept Medicare assignment; codifies the establishment of new Health Care Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes to be reported on claims for ambulance services; establishes increased payment under the fee schedule for ambulance services furnished in rural areas based on the location of the beneficiary at the time the beneficiary is placed on board the ambulance; and revises the certification requirements for coverage of nonemergency ambulance services. (+info)
Medicare program; criteria for submitting supplemental practice expense survey data under the physician fee schedule. Interim final rule with comment period.
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This interim final rule revises criteria that we apply to supplemental survey information supplied by physician, non-physician, and supplier groups for use in determining practice expense relative value units under the physician fee schedule. This interim final rule solicits public comments on the revised criteria for supplemental surveys. (+info)