Tag: face-to-face

WASHINGTON – CMS has published an adjusted fee schedule for oxygen therapy for April 2021 that no longer includes a percentage reduction to meet the budget neutrality requirement.  The adjustments result in an increase in fee schedule amounts ranging from $6.72 to $8.19 in former competitive bidding areas; $5.17 to $5.43 in other non-rural areas; and $4.14 to $6.82 in non-contiguous and rural areas, according to the VGM Group.  The fee schedule amounts are not retroactive...

The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing has issued a proposed rule requiring a face-to-face exam no more than six months prior to the initiation of certain durable medical equipment and services. The rule further defines DME and disposable medical supplies, and adds a previously approved benefit coverage standards for speech generating devices. Comments on the proposed rule are due April 12 and a hearing is scheduled for April 17 in Denver…The New York Department of Health has...

WASHINGTON - CMS has put physicians and HME providers on alert that they must soon comply with a face-to-face rule for Medicaid recipients.Starting July 1, physicians must document that they've conducted face-to-face visits with Medicaid recipients no more than six months prior to those patients receiving certain home medical equipment and services, according to final regulations published last week.“When the Affordable Care Act was enacted (in 2010), the face-to-face rule applied to Medicaid,...

A. The role of the DME provider is not only to deliver equipment and aid in a better quality of living, but also to educate the treating practitioners about Medicare and other insurance guidelines for power mobility. DME providers should turn education into an opportunity to increase referrals.The most common methods of educating physicians include: mailing the Medicare “Dear Physician” letters; emailing CMS newsletters; and conducting in-person visits.The provider who uses a combination...

BALTIMORE - Wave goodbye to audits of older claims for DME supplied to Medicare beneficiaries during a Part A stay.After working with AAHomecare, CMS has issued a “technical direction letter” to the recovery audit contractors advising them to limit audits to those claims paid on or after April 1, 2015, the association stated in a bulletin.“By presenting the facts instead of being guarded, we're building credibility and trust, and this type of collaborative discussion is the result...

WASHINGTON - The just-passed “doc fix” bill includes a provision that expands who can conduct the face-to-face exam required for DME. The provision modifies the requirement to allow physicians, physician assistants, practitioners, or specialists to conduct the exam. Industry stakeholders have long held that limiting who can document the face-to-face exam to physicians would result in delays in equipment and services. CMS implemented the face-to-face requirement on July 1, 2013, but it...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - DMEevalumate.com has launched its General DME program, an online documentation tool to aid clinicians with face-to-face evaluations. The program offers standardized documentation for manual wheelchairs, canes, crutches, walkers, hospital beds, support surfaces, commodes, urological supplies and diabetic supplies. “Rather than guessing what is needed for each DME item, DMEevalumate.com ensures that all data points are addressed and answered,” stated Eric Gregory, director...