Tag: WOPD

WASHINGTON - AAHomecare recommends that providers continue to obtain written orders prior to delivery for HME until CMS publishes a “required list.”Earlier this month, the DME MACs said a new standard written order would be the only type of order needed for HME claims starting with dates of service Jan. 1, 2020. But it also said certain HME on a “required list” would still be subject to face-to-face and WOPD requirements.While AAHomecare has confirmed that as of Jan. 1, 2020,...

WASHINGTON - Industry stakeholders are cautiously optimistic that CMS's new standard written order will streamline documentation and reduce denials for HME.Noridian, a DME MAC, posted an update to its website last week saying that the SWO would be the only type of order needed for DMEPOS claims starting with dates of service Jan. 1, 2020. “I think we're seeing a wiser CMS stepping into the 21st century,” said Andrea Stark, a reimbursement consultant for MiraVista. “The industry...

WASHINGTON - CMS has been enforcing the written order prior to delivery (WOPD) requirement for a year now, but compliance is still a road filled with potholes for many HME providers, industry stakeholders say.One big reason, says AAHomecare's Kim Brummett: The DME MACs are requiring more than the minimum five elements outlined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA): beneficiary name, DME item ordered, prescribing practitioner's NPI number and signature, and date of order.“The MACs all say providers...

For years, HME providers have been trying to teach physicians what they need to include in their chart notes, often to no avail, says Sarah Hanna, president of ECS Billing & Consulting North. But the transition to ICD-10 may be the thing that finally gets through to them, she says. “How a physician gets paid corresponds to a diagnosis procedure code,” she said. “Well guess what, to prove medical necessity for an ICD-10 code, which is more specific, you have to chart in a way that...