Cardiovascular disease - including heart disease and stroke - is the leading cause of death in the United States. Every day, 2200 people die from cardiovascular disease - that's 815,000 Americans each year, or 1 in every 3 deaths. The good news is that many risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and smoking can be prevented and controlled. To help, Medicare provides payment for the following benefits:
§ Initial Preventive Physical Exam (also known as the "Welcome to Medicare" Visit) § Annual Wellness Visit, including Personalized Prevention Plan Service § Cardiovascular Screening (total cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins, and triglycerides tests) § Intensive Behavioral Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease § Tobacco-Use Cessation Counseling Services What Can You Do? § Help seniors and others with Medicare better understand and identify their risk factors for heart disease and stroke § Talk with your patients about what they can do to reduce, eliminate, or control their cardiovascular disease risk factors and encourage appropriate use of the Medicare preventive benefits that can help them reach these goals § Learn more about and take advantage of information provided by campaigns like American Heart Month and Million Hearts<http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/index.html>, a national initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over five years For More Information: * MLN Guide to Medicare Preventive Services for Healthcare Professionals<http://www.CMS.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/mps_guide_web-061305.pdf> * MLN Expanded Benefits brochure<https://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/Expanded_Benefits.pdf> * MLN Annual Wellness Visit brochure<http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/Annual_Wellness_Visit.pdf> * MLN Tobacco-Use Cessation Counseling Services brochure<http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/smoking.pdf> * National Coverage Determination (NCD) for Intensive Behavioral Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease<http://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/details/ncd-details.aspx?NCDId=348&ncdver=1&NCAId=248&ver=2&NcaName=Intensive+Behavioral+Therapy+for+Cardiovascular+Disease&bc=BEAAAAAAABAA&;> § MLN Preventive Services Educational Products webpage<http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/35_PreventiveServices.asp> * MLN Quick Reference Information: Medicare Preventive Services chart for providers<https://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/MPS_QuickReferenceChart_1.pdf> * CDC American Heart Month<http://www.cdc.gov/Features/HeartMonth/> and CDC Heart Disease Guidelines and Recommendations<http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/guidelines_recommendations.htm> webpages * HHS Million Hearts(tm) campaign<http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/> * CDC Report - Million Hearts: Strategies to Reduce the Prevalence of Leading Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6036a4.htm?s_cid=mm6036a4_w> Thank you for joining with CMS in promoting the increased awareness of cardiovascular disease, its risk factors, and related preventive benefits covered by Medicare. ________________________________ It's Not too Late to Give and Get the Flu Vaccine. Take advantage of each office visit and protect your patients against the seasonal flu. Medicare will continue to pay for the seasonal flu vaccine and its administration for all Medicare beneficiaries through the entire flu season. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends that patients, healthcare workers and caregivers be vaccinated against the seasonal flu. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. Get the Flu Vaccine-Not the Flu. Remember - The flu vaccine plus its administration are covered Part B benefits. CMS has posted the 2011-2012 seasonal flu vaccine payment limits at http://www.CMS.gov/McrPartBDrugAvgSalesPrice/10_VaccinesPricing.asp. Note that the flu vaccine is NOT a Part D-covered drug. For more information on coverage and billing of the flu vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational provider resources, visit http://www.CMS.gov/MLNProducts/35_PreventiveServices.asp and http://www.cms.gov/immunizations. ________________________________ Note: If you have problems accessing any hyperlink in this message, please copy and paste the URL into your Internet browser. If you know someone who would like to subscribe to a Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) provider listserv, go to (http://www.cms.gov/prospmedicarefeesvcpmtgen/downloads/Provider_Listservs.pdf). If you would like to unsubscribe from a specific provider listserv, please go to (https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?INDEX) to unsubscribe or to leave the appropriate listserv. 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.gov/ContactCMS). Thank you.
