November 5, 2020
By Knicole C. Emanuel Esq. The Definition of Medical Necessity in the Era of COVID
Sometimes, in an audit, it comes down to the definition of “medical necessity.” While the coronavirus pandemic is horrible already, it seems to be getting worse. But COVID has forced slight, positive changes in the telehealth arena – and, perhaps, in the widening of the ambiguous definition of “medical necessity”…
October 8, 2020
By Knicole C. Emanuel Esq. Warning: Opdivo is New RAC Target
Opdivo is an immunotherapy treatment for advanced cancer. What is Opdivo? It’s a new target for Recovery Audit Contractors (RACs), specifically Performant Recovery. Opdivo is an immunotherapy treatment for advanced cancer or cancers that have been resistant to other treatments. While this is a newer drug, Medicare will still cover…
March 12, 2020
By Holly Louie, RN, BSN, CHBME More Major Insurance Plans Using Proprietary Tactics to Deny Medically Necessary, Correctly Coded Services
Some providers are experiencing high-volume denials based on idiosyncratic edits, made-up rules, and black-box edits. I have lost count of the number of publications released this year addressing surprise billing, incorrect use of Modifier 59, over-documentation, note bloat, billing for unnecessary services, over-prescribing of opioids, and myriad other topics targeting…
October 17, 2019
By Marvin D Mitchell, RN, BSN, MBA Decision-to-Admit to a SNF Remains a Documentation Challenge
Documentation is essential in order to avoid RAC problems. On the Sept. 9 edition of Monitor Mondays, Dr. John K. Hall made an excellent presentation on the coming Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) audits of skilled nursing facility (SNF) decision-to-admit proof of skilled need, and how hospital documentation is essential to…
September 26, 2019
By David M. Glaser, Esq. Court decision upholds provider sovereignty over determinations of medical necessity: Part II
The ruling focused on key hospice admissions. A recent RACmonitor article focused on the AseraCare case, wherein the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that if reasonable physicians differ about the medical necessity of care, a claim can’t be false. There were two other elements of the case worth emphasizing.…
June 13, 2019
By Shannon Deconda, CPC, CPC-I, CEMC, CMSCS, CPMA® My Patient is Bad – Very Bad
Ensuring your documentation meets medical necessity standards In 2003, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made a change within the Claims Processing Manual regarding the selection of the evaluation and management (E&M) level of service to be effective in 2004. This change made the need, reason, or extensiveness…
May 16, 2019
By Marvin D Mitchell, RN, BSN, MBA MA Plan Denials. Now What?
There are steps providers should take for holding managed care plans accountable. Considerable effort is regularly devoted by healthcare providers to overcome coverage denials through the application of the governing rules, such as they can be leveraged. Following the rules is tough in a world where money talks, bringing us…
April 12, 2018
By Kristi Pollard, RHIT, CCS, CPC, CIRCC, AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainer Advice for Coding Medical Necessity on Outpatient Claims
Don’t confuse your payer policy with providers’ medical degrees My recent article regarding secondary diagnosis coding and my advice to “just follow the guidelines” seems to have touched a nerve. Because it’s never quite that simple, is it? There’s the textbook answer on how we should be coding, and then there’s…
By David M. Glaser, Esq.
Bad advice tends to circulate regarding how to select the correct E&M codes. At a recent oncology conference in California, the speaker before me erroneously declared that the level of medical decision-making always controls the selection of code for any evaluation and management (E&M) service. She confidently asserted that…
December 21, 2017
By Juliet B. Ugarte Hopkins, MD, CHCQM-PHYADV Keeping Empathy from Trumping Medical Necessity
Determining when and how to discharge adult patients can present some difficult dilemmas. When I was a medical student (not that long ago,) my instructors emphasized a clear message over and over: decisions about patient care should never be tainted with consideration of cost. When I entered residency, however, things…
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- Adam J. KleinAllen Jost, PhDAlvin Gore, MD, CHCQM and Cathi Charlberg, LVN, CHCQMAmanda Gilliland, RN, BSNAmber Soucy, MSN, RNAndrew B. Wachler, Esq.Andrew B. Wachler, Esq. and Emma E. TrivaxAndrew H. Hughes, MD and Charles Locke, MD, CHCQM-PHYADVAndrew Wachler and Kaitlin NucciAndrew Wachler, Esq., and Sarah Hillegonds, Esq.Angela Phillips, PTAspen AlbrightBarbara Vandegrift, RN, BSN, MABecky Rodrian, CPC, CEMC, CBCS, MBSBenjamin Kartchner MD, CHCQM-PhyAdvBrian T. LandryChristina Panos, RHIA, CTRChristopher Halleman, DOChristopher J. Laney, Esq.Chuck BuckClark AnthonyColleen Morley, DNP, RN, CCM, CMAC, CMCN, ACM-RNDaniel Zirkman, MDDavid A. McKenzie, CAEDavid Jury MD, MSDavid M. Glaser, Esq.Delilah Davis, RN, BSN, CCADenise Coleman, LPNDenise Nash, MD, CCS, CIMDheeraj Mahajan, MD, FACPDuane Abbey, PhD, CFPEdward Hu, MD and Charles Locke, MDEdward Roche, PhD, JDElizabeth C. Dunbar, MD, MBA, FACEP, CHCQM-PHYADVEllen Fink-Samnick MSW, ACSW, LCSW, CCM, CRPEllen Parucka Walker LCSW ACSWErica E. Remer, MD, FACEP, CCDSErin Diesel Roumayah, Esq.Frank D. Cohen, MPA, MBBGlenn Krauss, RHIA, BBA, CCS, CCS-P, CPUR, CCDS, C-CDI, PCS, FCS, C-CDAMGloryanne Bryant, RHIA, RHIT, CCS, CCDSGreg FordHolly Louie, RN, BSN, CHBMEJ. Paul Spencer, CPC, COCJanelle Ali-Dinar, PhDJeffrey D. Lehrman DPM, FASPS, MAPWCAJessica Forster, Esq.John Foggle, MDJohn K. Hall, MD, JD, MBA, FCLM, FRCPCJulia K. Brodt, PhDJuliet B. Ugarte Hopkins, MD, CHCQM-PHYADVKaitlin Nucci Esq.Kathleen K. Borchard, BSN, RN-ACMKathy Seward, MD, CHCQM-PHYADVKim T. Charland, BA, RHIT, CCSKnicole C. Emanuel Esq.Kristi Pollard, RHIT, CCS, CPC, CIRCC, AHIMA-approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainerLaurie M. Johnson, MS, RHIA, FAHIMA AHIMA Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS TrainerLeslie Marsh, RN, BS, MSN, MBALori O’Hara, MA, CCC-SLPMadison AllenMaggie Elehwany, JDMark SpiveyMarvin D Mitchell, RN, BSN, MBAMary Beth Pace, RN, BSN, MBA, ACM, CMACMary Inman, Esq. and Anne Hayes Hartman, Esq.Mary Inman, Esq. and Max Voldman, Esq.Matt Lambert, MDMatthew AlbrightMaureen Testoni Esq,Max Voldman, Esq.Melinda Battaile, MD, FHM, MMCI, CHCQM-PHYADV, CCDSMichael A. Salvatore, MD, FACPMichael KennedyMichael Rosen, Esq.Nancy J. Beckley, MB, MBA, CHCNena Scott, MSEd, RHIA, CCS, CCS-P, CCDSPhillip Angello, MDRalph Wuebker, MD, MBARichard “Dick” Beckley, YNS, USN, 1966-1970Robin Sewell, CDIP, CCS, CPC, CICRonald Hirsch, MDSarah Hillegonds, Esq.Sean M. Weiss, CEMA, CMCO, CPMA, CPC-P, CMPE, CMPM, CPC-PSean Weiss, CHC, CEMA, CMCO, CPMA, CPC-P, CMPE, CPC and David Glaser, Esq.Shannon Deconda, CPC, CPC-I, CEMC, CMSCS, CPMA®Stanley Nachimson, MSStefani Daniels, MSN, RN, CMAC, ACM and Tiffany Ferguson, LMSW, ACMStefani Daniels, MSNA, ACM, CMAC
