A bill was introduced in the California Legislature to implement the national exam for California licensure as well as national certification. This would mean one exam for California providers and not two. This move will grant national certification allowing acupuncturists to be responsive to the current demand for their vital Read more…
On December 27, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 modified the Calendar Year (CY) 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS): Provided a 3.75% increase in MPFS payments for CY 2021 Suspended the 2% payment adjustment (sequestration) through March 31, 2021 Reinstated the 1.0 floor on the work Geographic Practice Cost Index Read more…
Medicare rates were to have been reduced by about 10% for all services other than E&M codes. However, due to the recent senate and congressional voting funding additional monies to Medicare this cut was averted and will only be about 5-6% instead of 10%. Unfortunately, due to the late rulings Read more…
CMS (Medicare) has released the 2021 deductible. The annual deductible for all Medicare Part B beneficiaries is $203 in 2021, an increase of $5 from the annual deductible of $198 in 2020. Medicare fees will be published before the end of the year however, it is likely the initially published fees Read more…
Medicare is scheduled to make a significant reduction in Medicare rates in 2021. All Medicare provider groups are forming a coalition to block these scheduled cuts and there are things that you may do. Several members of the House introduced H.R. 8702, the Holding Providers Harmless from Medicare Cuts During Read more…
2021 ICD10-CM Updates 2021 update 10-1-2020 72,616 Codes 490 Additions 58 Deletions 47 Revisions As occurs every October 1 there are additions and deletions to the ICD10 code set that is effective on October 1, 2020. Though these are 2021 codes the effective date is October 1 of the prior Read more…
September 15, 2020 - Shortly after releasing the 2021 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set, the American Medical Association (AMA) added two more codes related to COVID-19, including one that accounts for the extra safety protocols providers are taking to care for patients during the global pandemic. CPT code 99072 is a new practice expense Read more…
The VA will increase payments for acupuncture providers for services on or after September 1, 2020. Acupuncture providers will no longer be classified as mid-level providers. Mid-level providers are physician assistants and nurse practitioners who under Medicare are paid at 85% of the Medicare rate. Acupuncture providers were also labeled Read more…
Many acupuncture providers may be receiving recoupment of payments from VA claims. VA fees are always based on Medicare rates and before January 21 of this year there was no Medicare fee for acupuncture and acupuncture providers were paid at their local usual and customary which is substantially higher than Read more…
United Health Care and CIGNA have begun using Medically Unlikely Edits (MUE) to limit acupuncture to 3 sets per visit regardless of manual or electrical. n this policy, CMS Medically Unlikely Edits (MUE) it indicates âIn accordance with the code descriptions and/or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Read more…