IMPACT Act: Upcoming Calls and More

The MLN Connects® Provider eNews contains important news, announcements, and updates for health care professionals. Thursday, January 28, 2016 Can't view the image? Read the eNews! View this edition as a PDF In This Edition: MLN Connects® Events IMPACT Act: Connecting Post-Acute Care across the Care Continuum Call — Last Chance to Register Other CMS Events Special Open Door Forum: Understanding the IMPACT Act LTCH Quality Reporting Program Webinar Physician Compare Public Reporting Information Sessions Medicare Learning Network® Publications and Multimedia CMS Provider Minute: Duplicate Professional Claims Video — New Medicare Advance Beneficiary Notices Booklet — Revised Skilled Nursing Facility Billing Reference Fact Sheet — Revised Suite of Products & Resources for Billers & Coders Educational Tool — Revised Suite of Products & Resources for Compliance Officers Educational Tool — Revised Suite of Products & Resources for Educators & Students Educational Tool — Revised Suite of Products & Resources for Inpatient Hospitals Educational Tool — Revised Updated MLN Matters® Search Indices New Educational Web Guides Fast Fact Announcements CMS Releases Guide to Preventing Readmissions among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Medicare Beneficiaries PQRS: Submission Timeframes for 2015 Data Comment Period for IMPACT Act Measures Extended to January 29 PQRS: Self-Nomination for 2016 Qualified Registries and QCDRs Open through January 31 CMS to Release a Comparative Billing Report on Modifier 25: Internal Medicine in February CMS Seeks Public Comments on Draft Quality Measure Development Plan by March 1 Prior Authorization for Certain DMEPOS Items: FAQs on the Final Rule PEPPERs Available for SNFs, HHAs, Hospices, CAHs, LTCHs, IPFs, IRFs and PHPs Payment for Group 3 Power Wheelchair Cushions and Accessories Changes to the Medicare EHR Incentive Program Hardship Exception Process Testing QRDA l Release 2 and QRDA III Release 1 Files Claims, Pricers, and Codes New Drug Testing Laboratory Codes Editing Incorrectly Like the eNews? Have suggestions? Please let us know! The Medicare Learning Network®, MLN Connects®, and MLN Matters® are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

REGISTER TODAY: Find out what’s new with Physician Compare

Interested in learning more about the future of public reporting on Physician Compare and how it will affect you?  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host public reporting information sessions about recent updates to the Physician Compare website and future plans for public reporting on Physician Compare, including a publicly reported benchmark and star ratings (80 FR 71128-71129). Each one-hour webinar will offer stakeholders an opportunity to ask questions about public reporting and quality measures on Physician Compare. Webinars will be conducted via WebEx at the following times:           Tuesday, February 23, 2016 at 12:00 pm ET/ 9:00 am PT           Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at 4:00 pm ET/ 1:00 pm PT           Thursday, February 25, 2016 at 11:00 am ET/ 8:00 am PT Register today for a session. All sessions will present the same information. Multiple times are offered to help best accommodate your busy schedules. During each webinar, the Physician Compare Support Team will present information and then address participant questions.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has sent this update. To contact Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) go to our contact us page.

Enrollment System Questions Answered

The MLN Connects® Provider eNews contains important news, announcements, and updates for health care professionals. Thursday, January 21, 2016 Can't view the image? Read the eNews! View this edition as a PDF In This Edition: MLN Connects® Events IMPACT Act: Connecting Post-Acute Care across the Care Continuum Call — Register Now Other CMS Events Comparative Billing Report on Domiciliary E/M Services Webinar Medicare Learning Network® Publications and Multimedia PECOS FAQs Fact Sheet — Revised The Medicare Home Health Benefit Booklet — Revised Announcements CMS Updates Open Payments Data and Improves Website Open Payments System Downtime from January 21 through 26 LTCH Quality Reporting Program Data Submission Deadline: February 15 IRF Quality Reporting Program Data Submission Deadline: February 15 Hospice, IRF, LTCH, SNF, HHA: QIES System Downtime from March 16 through 21 LTCH and IRF Dry Run Readmission Reports Available Update to IRF-PAI Training Manual V1.4 Read More about What is Next for the EHR Incentive Programs Help Protect the Vision of Your Medicare Patients Claims, Pricers, and Codes January 2016 OPPS Pricer File Update Like the eNews? Have suggestions? Please let us know! The Medicare Learning Network®, MLN Connects®, and MLN Matters® are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Inpatient Hospital Payment Rate Impacted by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016

The MLN Connects® Provider eNews contains important news, announcements, and updates for health care professionals. Thursday, January 14, 2016 Inpatient Hospital Payment Rate Impacted by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 On Friday, December 18, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016.  Section 601, Modification of Medicare Inpatient Hospital Payment Rate for Puerto Rico Hospitals modifies the payment calculation with respect to operating costs of inpatient hospital services of a subsection (d) Puerto Rico hospital for discharges on or after January 1, 2016. CMS is currently revising the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) FY 2016 Pricer to reflect the new payment calculation requirement.  The amount of the payment with respect to the operating costs of inpatient hospital services of a subsection (d) Puerto Rico hospital for inpatient hospital discharges on or after January 1, 2016, will be based on 0 percent of the applicable Puerto Rico percentage and 100 percent of the applicable Federal percentage. In addition, the IPPS FY 2016 Pricer will include conforming changes to certain FY 2016 IPPS operating rates and factors that result from the application of the new Puerto Rico hospital payment calculation requirement, which are applicable to all IPPS hospital discharges on or after January 1, 2016. We will also incorporate the revised IPPS rates into the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Pricer, as they are used for certain LTCH claims payments. To allow sufficient time to develop and test, we will implement the IPPS and LTCH Pricers on April 4, 2016. Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) will reprocess IPPS inpatient claims from Puerto Rico and all other IPPS hospitals with a discharge date on or after January 1, 2016. The MACs will also reprocess LTCH claims with a discharge date on or after January 1, 2016, due to the impact of this change.  Puerto Rico hospitals (as well as all other IPPS and LTCH hospitals) do not need to take any action. We expect to reprocess claims no later than June 30, 2016. Like the eNews? Have suggestions? Please let us know! The Medicare Learning Network®, MLN Connects®, and MLN Matters® are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Continuing Patient-Centered Care with New ACO Initiatives

The MLN Connects® Provider eNews contains important news, announcements, and updates for health care professionals. Thursday, January 14, 2016 Can't view the image? Read the eNews! View this edition as a PDF In This Edition: MLN Connects® Events ESRD QIP: Payment Year 2019 Final Rule Call — Last Chance to Register Collecting Data on Global Surgery as Required by MACRA Listening Session — Last Chance to Register IMPACT Act: Connecting Post-Acute Care across the Care Continuum Call — Register Now Medicare Learning Network® Publications and Multimedia Introduction to the IMPACT Act of 2014 Video — New Preventive Services Poster — New Drug Diversion: Schemes, Auditing, and Referrals Web-Based Training — New Medicare Parts C and D General Compliance Training Web-Based Training — New Combatting Medicare Parts C and D Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Web-Based Training — New Medicare Quarterly Provider Compliance Newsletter Educational Tool — New Hospice Payment System Fact Sheet — Revised ICD-10 Post-Implementation: Coding Basics Revisited Video — Reminder Announcements Accountable Care Organization Initiatives Announced to Improve Health System Care Delivery Home Health Compare: Deadline to have Data Suppressed is January 25 CMS to Release a Comparative Billing Report on Electrodiagnostic Testing in February Revised Two-Midnight Rule Guidelines PQRS Web-Based Measure Search Tool January is Cervical Health Awareness Month Like the eNews? Have suggestions? Please let us know! The Medicare Learning Network®, MLN Connects®, and MLN Matters® are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Stay Informed About Medicare Program Changes in 2016

The MLN Connects® Provider eNews contains important news, announcements, and updates for health care professionals. Thursday, January 7, 2016 Can't view the image? Read the eNews! View this edition as a PDF In This Edition MLN Connects® Events ESRD QIP: Payment Year 2019 Final Rule Call — Register Now Collecting Data on Global Surgery as Required by MACRA Listening Session — Register Now IMPACT Act: Connecting Post-Acute Care across the Care Continuum Call — Register Now New Audio Recordings and Transcripts Available Stay Informed about Medicare Program Changes Other CMS Events Comparative Billing Report on Home E/M Services Webinar Medicare Learning Network® Publications and Multimedia FY 2017 and After Payments to Hospice Agencies That Do Not Submit Required Quality Data MLN Matters® Article — Released Remittance Advice Resources and FAQs Fact Sheet — New Medicare Overpayments Fact Sheet — Revised Medicare Vision Services Fact Sheet — Revised Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Services Fact Sheet — Revised Medicare Enrollment Guidelines for Ordering/Referring Providers Fact Sheet — Revised Certificate of Medical Necessity Web-Based Training Course — Revised New Educational Web Guides Fast Fact Announcements Medicare FFS Utilization and Payment Data Available for HHAs CMS Finalizes Rule Creating Prior Authorization Process for Certain DMEPOS Items CMS Quality Measure Development Plan Improving the Submission of Quality Data to CMS Quality Reporting Programs Pilot Project to Test Improving Patients’ Health by Addressing Their Social Needs EHR Incentive Programs: 2015 Program Year Attestation Begins January 4 PQRS: Submission Timeframes for 2015 Data PQRS: Self-Nomination for 2016 Qualified Registries and QCDRs Open through January 31 IRF Data Submission Deadline Extended to February 15 LTCH Data Submission Deadline Extended to February 15 LTCH QRP: FAQs and Provider Training Materials Available Hospice Item Set Timeliness Compliance Threshold Fact Sheet Available Improving the Documentation of Chiropractic Services Video Reporting the Diabetes: Hemoglobin A1c Measure for Program Year 2015 CMS to Release a Comparative Billing Report on Domiciliary E/M Services in January January Quarterly Provider Update Available Get Your Patients Off to a Healthy Start in 2016 Continue Seasonal Influenza Vaccination through January and Beyond Claims, Pricers, and Codes Holding of 2016 Date-of-Service Claims for Services Paid Under the 2016 MPFS Provider Enrollment Application Fee Amount for CY 2016 Clarification for Coding Relating to Cologuard January 2016 OPPS Pricer File Available January 2016 FQHC Pricer Files Available Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair Claims Editing Incorrectly Pharmacogenomic Testing for Warfarin Responsiveness Claims Editing Incorrectly Adjustments to Correct Home Health Claim Payments Like the eNews? Have suggestions? Please let us know! The Medicare Learning Network®, MLN Connects®, and MLN Matters® are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).