Two years after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, it has continued to provide thousands of Americans with insurance protections, preventive benefits, and resources to improve care. For more information on the benefits of the law in a particular state, please visit http://www.HealthCare.gov/law/resources/index.html.
The Affordable Care Act has the potential to bring considerable financial and clinical benefits for providers across the healthcare spectrum. The law enacts comprehensive reforms that will hold health insurance companies accountable, protect you and your patients, and guarantee choice and control. Here are 5 specific ways you and your practice can benefit: § New consumer protections hold health insurers accountable. § Expanded insurance coverage to more than 34 million people. § Reduced administrative burdens and more time seeing patients. § New models create more opportunities to coordinate care. § New protections strengthen patient coverage, your practice, and the entire healthcare system. Read "Healthcare Providers: The Top Five Things You Need to Know About the Affordable Care Act<http://www.healthcare.gov/news/brochures/health-care-providers-top5.pdf>" to find out more. ________________________________ CMS.gov Website Upgrade: Please take note that CMS is in the process of making upgrades to the www.CMS.gov<http://www.CMS.gov> website. If you encounter problems accessing information while on the site, please refresh the page or check back later. We appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience. ________________________________ 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.
