Reprieve: Medicaid Attestation Deadline Extended to April 30

If your physician was a meaningful user of a certified electronic health record (EHR) system in 2012, he or she still has time to register and attest for Medicaid's EHR Incentive Program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has granted a one-time extension.

The new Medicaid attestation deadline is April 30, 2013. Help make sure your physician gets paid for 2012! 

Physicians can register and attest via the CMS website. CMS, in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (IDHFS), will vet the data entered during the registration phase and the eligible physician or practitioner will receive a "go ahead" email from IDHFS for attestation. With that green light, your physician can attest through the Illinois MEDI System.

Check out these new guides, published by IDHFS to assist with this process:

• EHR Incentive Program Provider User Manual - guidance on how to complete attestation.
• EHR Incentive Program: Eligible Provider User Manual Meaningful Use Stage 1.
• My EHR Participation Timeline - a tool to help your physician determine which year he or she will demonstrate Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 of meaningful use.

April 2013

Reprieve: Medicaid Attestation Deadline Extended to April 30

Effective July 1: WPS No Longer Illinois' Medicare Part B Administrator

Get the Umbrella - It's Raining Education Opportunities!

Tdap Immunization Requirements Expand for Next School Year

Come for the Free Lunch, Stay for the Free Cost-Saving Analysis

If your physician attested for meaningful use, he or she might be selected at random for a prepayment audit to certify meaningful use of EHR technology.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services contracted with accounting firm Figliozzi and Company to conduct the audits. So be on the lookout for a possible letter from this firm. 

As directed by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act), any person or organization receiving an incentive payment may be subject to an audit, including inspection of books and records.

Incentive payments will be held pending the outcome of the audit.

Say hello to National Government Services, Inc. (NGS). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has awarded the contract for administering Part B Medicare fee-for-service claims to vendor NGS, effective July 1.

Not entirely new to the Medicare scene, NGS had already been administering Part A. However, this change does eliminate services by Illinois' Medicare carrier, WPS.

Access NGS' transition information.

Get the Umbrella - It's Raining Education Opportunities!

Check out ISMS programming for 2013 at the ISMS Education Catalog. Select from numerous on-demand programs, webinars and live education opportunities addressing a broad spectrum of topics geared for both practice staff and physicians.

Here are a few highlights of upcoming education that may be of particular interest to practice staff.

Workers' comp seminars coming in May

Do your responsibilities in the medical office involve caring for injured workers? Then you won't want to miss this upcoming half-day seminar, Permanent Partial Impairment Ratings and the Illinois Workers' Compensation System, featuring an all-star faculty being held at these dates and locations:

• May 8 - Oak Brook
• May 23 - Springfield

Learn about the principles of the Permanent Partial Impairment (PPI) rating system and report preparation; examine various patient injury scenarios and identify if these situations warrant PPI ratings; understand the financial implications of PPI ratings on permanent partial disability awards; and more!

The cost is $100 each for practice staff in offices of ISMS members and for member physicians; $50 for government employees; $20 for students. All others (including non-member ISMIE Mutual policyholders) pay $125.

Register online for the May 8 seminar; May 23 seminar.

Fax or mail this registration form for either seminar.

The seminars are co-sponsored by ISMS and SafeWorks Illinois.

Save the Dates: ICD-10-CM Workshops Coming this Summer

As you know by now, the compliance deadline for the new ICD-10-CM code set has been delayed until Oct. 1, 2014.

Staff who are involved with billing and coding will need significant training when the new code set soars from about 13,000 codes under ICD-9-CM to 68,000 codes under ICD-10-CM.

While 2014 may seem like a long way off, it's not too soon to begin preparing for the implementation of this code set. Start now by registering for ICD-10-CM: Readying Your Physicians and Practices for the Change, a workshop designed for practice staff, billers, coders, physicians or anyone desiring a better understanding of the changes ahead with ICD-10-CM.

The half-day workshops, being co-sponsored by ISMS and Blue & Company, will take place at these dates and locations:

• July 17 - Oak Brook
• August 7 - Springfield

The cost is $149 each for practice staff in offices of ISMS members and for member physicians; all others pay $249 (including non-member ISMIE Mutual policyholders).

Register online for the July 17 workshop; August 7 workshop.

The busy season for school physicals will be heating up soon, bringing your office the usual influx of families requesting school physical forms. Here's what's new for school year 2013-2014.

Now all sixth- through twelfth- grade students will be required to receive a Tdap booster shot, the immunization against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough). This is a change from last year when Illinois began requiring that sixth and ninth grade students receive the vaccine.

Whooping cough cases in pre-teens and teens have been on the rise in Illinois during the last six years; hence the expanded immunization requirements. 

If your patient received the Tdap shot previously, they do not need to receive another vaccine; the patient only needs to show proof of having received the immunization.

For more information, review this guidance from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Find out how your office can save on payment processing and pick up a few tips on time-saving strategies at a free lunch being sponsored by TransFirst (formerly Solveras) on April 25, 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., at Maggiano's in Oak Brook. Since it's geared for both practice managers and physicians, why not bring a doctor with you?

Along with your free lunch, there will be an opportunity to receive a free cost-savings analysis! Be sure to bring copies of your merchant processing statements from the last two or three months.

RSVP by calling 615-550-9356 or send an email (include names, practice name, and phone number). Space is limited; one practice manager per practice.

Please note: This event applies to ISMS member practices not already processing with TransFirst/Solveras.

TransFirst is one of our many ISMS Benefit Partners.