05/14/2018
CMS-Medicare
Recent Oncology Related Articles
Oncology Care Model Update—Stakeholders’ Perspectives
(ACCCBuzz Blog) May 11, 2018 - Oncology Care Model (OCM)-participating practices from across the country traveled to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) offices in Baltimore, Md., for the annual OCM Stakeholder Meeting. READ ARTICLE
First CMS Rural Health Strategy
On May 8, CMS released its first Rural Health Strategy intended to provide a proactive approach on healthcare issues to ensure that the nearly one in five individuals who live in rural America have access to high quality, affordable healthcare. “For the first time, CMS is organizing and focusing our efforts to apply a rural lens to the vision and work of the agency,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “The Rural Health Strategy supports CMS’ goal of putting patients first. Through its implementation and our continued stakeholder engagement, this strategy will enhance the positive impacts CMS policies have on beneficiaries who live in rural areas.”
The agency-wide Rural Health Strategy, built on input from rural providers and beneficiaries, focuses on five objectives to achieve the agency’s vision for rural health:
- Apply a rural lens to CMS programs and policies
- Improve access to care through provider engagement and support
- Advance telehealth and telemedicine
- Empower patients in rural communities to make decisions about their healthcare
- Leverage partnerships to achieve the goals of the CMS Rural Health Strategy
For More Information:
- Rural Health webpage
- Fact Sheet
See the full text of this excerpted CMS Press Release (issued May 8).
Hospital Compare Preview Reports Available through June 2
July 2018 Hospital Compare Preview Reports are available through the QualityNet Secure Portal through June 2. Participating hospitals: access and download your reports early in the preview period to conduct a thorough review; these reports are only available during the preview period. The data in the Preview Reports will be reported in July 2018 on the Hospital Compare website.
eCQM Annual Update
CMS posted the electronic Clinical Quality Measure (eCQM) annual update for:
For More Information:
- eCQI Resource Center website
- Guide to Reading eCQMs
- Value Set Authority Center website
- Visit the eCQM Issue Tracker to provide feedback; an ONC Issue Tracking System account is required
New Medicare Cards: You Can Use MBIs Right Away
Your Medicare patients are getting their new Medicare cards with new numbers known as Medicare
Beneficiary Identifiers (MBIs). MBIs will replace the existing Social Security Number (SSN) based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) on the new Medicare cards and in the systems Medicare uses now. Medicare will replace all current cards and SSN-based numbers by April 2019.
Medicare is telling your Medicare patients to show you and your office staff their new Medicare card when they come for care. It is important for you to protect the identity of your Medicare patients by getting and using their new MBIs as soon as you have them.
You and your office staff should:
- Use the MBI to bill Medicare as soon as you get a Medicare patient’s new number
- Use the transition period to make sure your systems can accept and transmit MBIs
Here are three ways you and your office staff can get MBIs:
- Ask your Medicare patients: Medicare is mailing the new Medicare cards in phases by geographic location to people with Medicare. Ask your Medicare patients for their new Medicare card when they come for care. If they have received a new card but don’t have it with them at the time of service, remind them they can use MyMedicare.gov to get their new Medicare number.
- Use the Medicare Administrative Contractors’ secure MBI look-up tool: Learn about and sign up for the Portal to use the tool when it is available no later than June 2018. You can look up MBIs for your Medicare patients who don’t have their new cards when they come for care.
- Check the remittance advice: Starting in October 2018 through the end of the transition period,
Medicare will return the MBI on every remittance advice when you submit claims with valid and active HICNs.
Medicare has resources to help you use the new Medicare cards:
- Learn how you and your office staff can get ready for and use the new MBIs
- Read a Medicare Learning Network fact sheet
- See a timeline
- Find Open Door Forum recaps
- Review outreach materials for your Medicare patients
- Contact the new Medicare card provider Ombudsman
Administrative Simplification: Transactions
Did you know that Administrative Simplification includes standards for common health care administrative transactions? The standards address the content and format for each transaction:
- Claims and encounter information
- Payment and remittance advice
- Claims status
- Eligibility
- Enrollment and disenrollment
- Referrals and authorizations
- Coordination of benefits
- Premium payment
Can’t Find An Answer To Your Question?
Most key initiatives have Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). If you search for a Medicare topic on cms.gov and do not find an answer, visit the fee-for-service FAQ webpage to search by topic or submit a question.
Quarterly Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Drug/Biological Code Changes – July 2018 Update
Change Request (CR) 10624 informs MACs of updated drug/biological HCPCS codes. The HCPCS code set is updated on a quarterly basis. The July 2018 HCPCS file includes 4 new HCPCS codes: Q9991, Q9992, Q9993 and Q9995. READ MORE
Quarterly Update to the NCCI PTP Edits, Version 24.2 MLN Matters Article — New
A new MLN Matters Article on Quarterly Update to the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) Procedure-toProcedure (PTP) Edits, Version 24.2 Effective July 1, 2018 is available. Learn about an update to Chapter 23, Section 20.9 of the Medicare Claims Processing Manual.
Guidelines for Teaching Physicians, Interns, and Residents Booklet — Revised
A revised Guidelines for Teaching Physicians, Interns, and Residents Booklet is available. Learn about:
- Payment for physician services in teaching settings
- Evaluation and Management (E/M) documentation
- Exception for E/M services furnished in certain primary care centers
ICD-10-CM/PCS: The Next Generation of Coding Booklet — Reminder
The ICD-10-CM/PCS: The Next Generation of Coding Booklet is available. Learn about:
- Use of external cause and unspecified codes in ICD-10-CM
- CPT and HCPCS codes
- Similarities and differences between ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM
- New features and additional changes in ICD-10-CM
General Equivalence Mappings FAQs Booklet — Reminder
The General Equivalence Mappings FAQs Booklet is available. Learn about:
- Use of external cause and unspecified codes in ICD-10-CM
- Conversion of ICD-9-CM codes to ICD-10-CM/PCS and ICD-10-CM/PCS codes back to ICD-9-CM
Recent LearnResource & MedLearn Matters Articles