Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes Chapter 7 HCPCS and Coding Compliance

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  Level I codes and CPT codes are the same.  Level II codes represent codes that are not found in the CPT or ICD-9-CM, such as medical equipment and supplies.  Level III codes are assigned and maintained by individual state Medicare carriers for new procedures.

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  Provide standardized coding system managed by private and public insurers  Supplies a predictable set of uniform codes  Provide a stable environment for claims submission and processing

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  Two-digit codes, alpha or alphanumeric, ranging from AA to VP  Used to modify procedures or services on health insurance forms for Medicare patients  Level III (local) modifiers assigned by individual Medicare carriers

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  Diagnosis and procedure code connection  Evaluation of medical necessity of reported charges  Regulations cover place, frequency, or level of services

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  Denied claims  Delays in processing and receiving payments  Reduced payments  Fines and other sanctions including prison sentences  Exclusion from payer’s programs and loss of provider’s medical license

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  Avoids fraudulent claims by ensuring that documentation is complete and accurate.  Compliant claims are an indication of compliant practice.

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  Is the coded service billable?  Is it appropriate to patient’s profile?  Is there a clear and correct link to each diagnosis and procedure?  Is the documentation accurate and supportive?  Are reported services compliant with regulations?

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  False claims act includes liability for submitting fraudulent claims.  Protection and rewards are available for “whistle blowers.”  Stark Law regarding physician self-referral may represent a conflict of interest.

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  Civil law maximum penalty is $10,000 per item or service for medical fraud.  Criminal law jail sentences are up to 10 years, in addition to fines.  Administrative law excludes from participation as providers in government health programs.

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  OIG work plan lists the year’s planned projects for sampling types of billing, checking for problems.  OIG fraud alerts posted on CMS website and issued periodically alert providers to problematic areas.

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  MOS must comply with all governmental regulations.  Consequences of inaccurate coding include delayed or denied payments and suspicion of fraud.  Compliance programs optimize processing and payment speed and reduce errors.

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  CPT procedure codes do not match the ICD- 9-CM diagnosis codes.  Procedures must not be elective, experimental, or nonessential.  Procedures are not furnished at appropriate level or provided by unlicensed or unqualified personnel.

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  Include assumption coding or coding without proper documentation.  Include alteration of documentation after services reported or incomplete documentation at the time of billing.  Include upcoding, unbundling, or using modifiers incorrectly

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  Controls improper coding by standardizing bundled codes.  Edits are comprised of code combinations used in computerized screening process.

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  Includes comprehensive versus component edits, mutually exclusive edits, and modifier indicators.  Advisory opinions provide legal advice on any question regarding healthcare business.

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  The medical office specialist is responsible for coding.  Patient confidentiality is a patient’s right and must be safeguarded.

Comprehensive Health Insurance: Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Deborah Vines, Elizabeth Rollins, Ann Braceland, Nancy H. Wright, and Judith S. Haynes  Medical office specialist is an emissary and educator in teaching and implementing correct coding strategies.  Use problem resolution with open dialogue; don’t become part of the problem.