Explaining the Ambulance Inflation Factor This Week This week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the Ambulance Inflation Factor (AIF) for Calendar Year 2016 (CY 2016). For the first time ever the AIF is a negative value, meaning it will impact the National Medicare Ambulance Fee Schedule by a negative four tenths of […]
Documenting Incidents for Public Places/Stand-By Events We are asked… Here at the billing office we often are asked questions about documenting EMS incidents that take place in public places and many times during stand-by events. There are the events where your EMS agency is engaged such as high school sporting events, community events such as […]
Be Careful What You Say! The Quick Answer The quick answer will get you every time! You know, the patient asks you a question you quickly answer with an off-the-cuff answer. And then…..you realize…. “Oops…maybe I shouldn’t have said that.” Too late now! Where are we going with this? Invariably, questions fielded about billing in […]
“Trick or Treat” – Documenting Child EMS Scenarios Little Ghouls and Goblins… Tomorrow is the day the little ghouls and goblins make their rounds to collect more sugar than any parent should ever allow their children to have. It’s almost Halloween! So, what better time than to offer some suggestions regarding documenting EMS treatment and […]
Additional Cut Looms for Ambulance Industry More Bad News This week saw more bad news for the ambulance industry. Leading economic indicators are pointing to a projected negative Ambulance Inflation Factor for 2016. It is projected that the AIF value in the New Year will decrease Medicare ambulance payments by -0.5%. While the number is […]
Change! New and Refreshing? Change. The dictionary defines the word as “the act or instance of making or becoming something different” or “an alteration or modification.” Another definition defines change as being “a new or refreshingly different experience.” So if change is new and refreshing, a modification implying that the modification is for the better, […]
The Bad Apples Ruin the Whole Bunch 1 in 5! Just one week ago, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a nationwide report citing questionable Medicare billing practices by ambulance suppliers, nationwide. The OIG reports that 1 in 5 ambulance providers has engaged in “questionable billing” practices. […]
It’s Finally Here! It seems like forever ago… It seems like forever ago we began talking about this thing called ICD-10. Delay after delay, extension after extension and here we are. Thursday is the day the American healthcare industry has long been anticipating. ICD-10 is finally here! Boil it all down Boil it all down, […]
Introducing the “Z” Codes Fast Approaching! ICD-10 is fast approaching! Come October 1st the healthcare industry begins to use the new diagnosis coding regimen and with that transition the ambulance billing industry will face a new set of rules and billing guidelines to follow including the “Z” codes. Reasons for Encounters… The “Z” codes denote […]
Documenting Non-Emergency Scenarios Post October 1, 2015 Back Again We’re back again in the second part of our look at the guidance provided by Novitas Solutions as published in their future Local Coverage Determination (LCD) slated to begin on October 1, 2015. You’ll recall that we focused on emergency documentation in this space, last week. […]
