GPCI Decrease Offsets Positive Medicare Increase in Some Geographic Areas

GPCI Decrease Offsets Positive Medicare Increase in Some Geographic Areas The “Yo-Yo” Effect Talk about a “yo-yo” effect of ups and downs surrounding the anticipated new Medicare Ambulance Fee Schedule amounts!  You’ll recall we Blogged several times about the Congressional battle that stood to interfere with the extension of the...

Congress Extends Ambulance Relief for Two Months

Congress Extends Ambulance Relief for Two Months It passed! President Obama Expected to Sign Legislation has passed temporarily extending ambulance claim bonus payments that were set to expire in a week. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law today.  For at least two months, the bonus payments...

Latest Update on Medicare Ambulance Relief Extensions

Latest Update on Medicare Ambulance Relief Extensions Both Chambers Pass the Bill The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011, H.R. 3630 has now passed both the House and the Senate.  This bill, which also includes the extension of the ambulance bonus payments into the New Year, may now...

House of Representatives Passes Medicare Ambulance Relief Extensions

House of Representatives Passes Medicare Ambulance Relief Extensions Late last night (December 13th) the U.S. House passed H.R.3630. The bill included language extending the current Medicare ambulance bonus payments for another one-year period, while mandating the General Accounting Office (GAO) to update the ambulance cost report. Tabbed the Middle Class...

Medicare Ambulance Relief Extension in Congressional Hands

Medicare Ambulance Relief Extension in Congressional Hands Congressional Republicans Propose Relief Extension for 2012 Congressional Republicans have included a one-year extension of Medicare ambulance relief as part of their proposed package to extend the payroll tax holiday, the physician fix and a few other provisions. The American Ambulance Association has...

Veterans in EMS

Veterans in EMS On this Veteran’s Day, as EMS brothers and sisters, we take a minute to salute the many EMS providers that have so bravely served our great nation!  We have many of those in our ranks to thank for the freedoms we enjoy every day.  Our very ability...

Ambulance Inflation Factor to increase by 2.4% in 2012- Part II

Ambulance Inflation Factor to increase by 2.4% in 2012- Part II If the bonus payments go away… You’ll recall that bonus payments of 2% (urban), 3% (rural) and 22.6% (super-rural) are currently being added to Medicare payments as part of the Medicare Ambulance Relief provisions in the Tax Extenders Act...

Ambulance Inflation Factor to increase by 2.4% in 2012- Part I

Ambulance Inflation Factor to increase by 2.4% in 2012- Part I Determining the adjustment… The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that the Ambulance Inflation Factor (AIF) for 2012 will be set at +2.4% beginning on January 1, 2012. The AIF is arrived at by combining two...

Recovery Audit Program Extended to Medicaid

Recovery Audit Program Extended to Medicaid White House pushes to further curb waste, fraud and abuse… Last week the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its final rule establishing the Medicaid Recovery Audit program.  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) touted the program as a key...

Storm Related Transport Billing- Follow-up

Storm Related Transport Billing- Follow-up We contacted CMS... Following our September 9th Blog, Storm Related Transport Billing, Enhanced reached out to communicate with one of our key contacts within CMS. Our question to this CMS representative was to determine if it was anticipated that any waiver would be initiated on...