Updates from the Medicare Learning Network... [cid:[email protected]]
§ Medicare Quarterly Provider Compliance Newsletter - First Edition Released! § New Product titled "Medicare Outpatient Therapy Billing" § "Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System" Fact Sheet (revised July 2010) § World Osteoporosis Day and National Mammography Day § October Flu Shot Reminder --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >From the Medicare Learning Network: Medicare Quarterly Provider Compliance >Newsletter - First Edition Released! Just a reminder that the Medicare Learning Network® (MLN) has developed a new educational tool, the Medicare Quarterly Provider Compliance Newsletter, to advise physicians, suppliers, and other FFS providers about how to avoid common billing errors and other erroneous activities when dealing with the Medicare Program. The newsletter will be updated and issued on a quarterly basis to highlight the "top" issues of that particular quarter. In this first edition, a number of issues that impact a variety of provider types are presented in order to introduce the newsletter to a wide audience of providers. For more information, please read the first edition of the newsletter at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/MedQtrlyComp_Newsletter_ICN904943.pdf on the CMS website. Stay tuned for the second edition, which will be released in January 2011! >From the Medicare Learning Network: New Product titled "Medicare Outpatient >Therapy Billing" A new publication titled "Medicare Outpatient Therapy Billing" (August 2010) is now available in downloadable format from the Medicare Learning Network® at http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/Medicare_Outpatient_Therapy_Billing_ICN903663.pdf. This publication provides information about Medicare outpatient physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology (therapy services) coverage requirements; calendar year 2010 therapy codes and dispositions; and billing measures for therapy services. >From the Medicare Learning Network: "Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective >Payment System" Fact Sheet (revised July 2010) The "Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System" Fact Sheet (revised July 2010), which provides the elements of the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System, is now available in print format from the Medicare Learning Network®. To place your order, visit http://www.cms.gov/MLNGenInfo<http://www.cms.gov/MLNGenInfo/>, scroll down to "Related Links Inside CMS" and select "MLN Product Ordering Page." >From the Medicare Learning Network: World Osteoporosis Day and National >Mammography Day October 20 is World Osteoporosis Day and October 22 is National Mammography Day. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is asking the provider community to keep their patients with Medicare healthy by encouraging eligible patients to take advantage of Medicare-covered bone mass measurements and screening mammograms. Medicare provides coverage for bone mass measurements for qualified Medicare patients once every two years. Medicare also provides coverage for an annual screening mammogram for all female beneficiaries age 40 or older, and coverage for one baseline mammogram for female beneficiaries between the ages of 35 and 39. What Can You Do? As a health care professional who provides care to patients with Medicare, you can help protect the health of your Medicare patients by encouraging them to take advantage of Medicare-covered screenings, including bone mass measurements and screening mammographies, that are appropriate for them. For More Information: CMS has developed several educational products related to Medicare-covered bone mass measurements. They are all available, free of charge, from the Medicare Learning Network®: * The MLN Preventive Services Educational Products Web Page - provides descriptions and ordering information for Medicare Learning Network® (MLN) educational products for health care professionals related to Medicare-covered preventive services, including bone mass measurements and screening mammograms. Visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/35_PreventiveServices.asp. * The Guide to Medicare Preventive Services for Physicians, Providers, Suppliers, and Other Health Care Professionals - provides coverage and coding information on Medicare-covered preventive services and screenings, including bone mass measurements and screening mammograms. Visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/mps_guide_web-061305.pdf. * Quick Reference Information: Medicare Preventive Services - this chart provides coverage and coding information on Medicare-covered preventive services, including bone mass measurements and screening mammograms. Visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/MPS_QuickReferenceChart_1.pdf. * The Medicare Preventive Services Series: Part 3 Web-Based-Training (WBT) course - this WBT includes lessons on coverage, coding, and billing for Medicare-covered preventive services, including bone mass measurements and screening mammograms. To access the course, please visit the MLN home page at http://www.cms.gov/mlngeninfo on the internet. Scroll down to "Related Links Inside CMS" and click on "Web Based Training (WBT) Modules." * The Bone Mass Measurements brochure - this brochure provides information on coverage for Medicare-covered bone mass measurements. Visit http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/bone_mass.pdf. * The Cancer Screenings brochure - this brochure provides information on coverage for Medicare-covered cancer screenings, including screening mammograms. Visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/cancer_screening.pdf. Please visit the Medicare Learning Network<http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNGenInfo/> for more information on these and other Medicare fee-for-service educational products. For more information on World Osteoporosis Day, please visit the International Osteoporosis Foundation website at http://www.iofbonehealth.org/about-iof/iof-programs/outreach-education/world-osteoporosis-day.html on the internet. For more information on National Mammography Day, please visit American Cancer Society at http://www.cancer.org<http://www.cancer.org/> on the internet. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- October Flu Shot Reminder Vaccination is the Best Protection Against the Flu. This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is encouraging everyone 6 months of age and older to get vaccinated against the seasonal flu. The risks for complications, hospitalizations and deaths from the flu are higher among individuals aged 65 years and older. Medicare pays for the seasonal flu vaccine and its administration for seniors and others with Medicare with no co-pay or deductible. And remember, vaccination is particularly important for health care workers, who may spread the flu to high risk patients. Don't forget to immunize yourself and your staff. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. Get Your Flu Vaccine - Not the Flu. Remember - Influenza vaccine plus its administration are covered Part B benefits. Note that influenza vaccine is NOT a Part D covered drug. For information about Medicare's coverage of the influenza vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational resources for health care professionals and their staff, please visit http://www.cms.gov/AdultImmunizations. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: If you have problems accessing any hyperlink in this message, please copy and paste the URL into your Internet browser. Please DO NOT respond to this email. This email is a service of CMS and routed through an electronic mail server to communicate Medicare policy and operational changes and/or updates. Responses to this email are not routed to CMS personnel. Inquiries may be sent by going to (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ContactCMS). Thank you. If you received this message as part of the All FFS Providers listserv, you are currently subscribed to one of eighteen Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) provider listservs. If you would like to be removed from all NIH listservs, please go to (https://list.nih.gov/LISTSERV_WEB/signoff.htm) to unsubscribe. If you would like to unsubscribe from a specific provider listserv, please go to (https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/show_list_archives) to unsubscribe or to leave the appropriate listserv. If you know someone who would like to subscribe to a FFS provider listserv, go to (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/prospmedicarefeesvcpmtgen/downloads/Provider_Listservs.pdf) .
<<inline: image001.jpg>>
