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CMS RACs Post Over 40 New Issues
Written by Team eduTrax   
Tuesday, 05 January 2010 00:00

eduTrax News Service - January 5, 2010.

Region C RAC Posts Over 40 Issues, Most for Complex Review

Focus is on DRG Validation and MS-DRG Coding, Not Medical Necessity. Yet.

Connolly Healthcare, the RAC assigned to most of the southern states, posted over 40 new approved issues on their website, during the last week of 2009. The issues mainly focus on MS-DRG coding and DRG validation, and not medical necessity. The list of MS-DRG’s included in the issues represent both medical and surgical cases. Click title to read more...

Last Updated on Tuesday, 23 February 2010 00:03
Read more...
 
Medicare Fraud Strike Force Expands Operations
Written by Team eduTrax   
Monday, 21 December 2009 00:00

eduTrax News Service - December 21, 2009.

Medicare Fraud Strike Force Expands Operations into Brooklyn, Tampa, Baton Rouge

$61 Million in Fraudulent Billing Alleged in Indictments of Thirty Individuals in Miami, Detroit and Brooklyn

HHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that thirty people were charged in three cities for their alleged roles in schemes to submit more than $61 million in false Medicare claims, as part of the continuing operation of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Also, DOJ and HHS announced the expansion of Strike Force operations to Brooklyn, Tampa and Baton Rouge in three new phases of a targeted criminal, civil and administrative effort against fraud in the Medicare program.

Last Updated on Monday, 21 December 2009 18:08
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Connolly Posts First Complex Reviews By RACs
Written by Team eduTrax   
Friday, 04 December 2009 03:52

eduTrax News Service - December 3, 2009.

Connolly Healthcare posted the first Coding & DRG Validation issues approved by CMS for RAC audits, today. Twenty-five new issues were posted to their website, shortly after Noon ET. These issues are the first to be posted for Complex review, where a human must read medical records to determine the validity of the claim and reimbursement. All previously approved RAC audit issues have only been approved by CMS for Automated review, which only requires data analysis by computer. The MS-DRGs selected are not surprising, considering the findings of the RAC Demonstration project, and the potential dollar amounts that might be recouped by CMS and commissioned to the RAC.

The complete listing can be found by selecting Connolly Healthcare from this page on www.myedutrax.com.

The following 25 items were ADDED, for all States in Region C:

  1. Upper Limb and Toe Amputation for Circulatory System Disorders with MCC: MS-DRG 255
  2. Cirrhosis and Alcoholic Hepatitis with MCC: MS- DRG 432
  3. Septicemia without Mechanical Ventilation 96+ Hours without MCC: MS-DRG 872
  4. Nonextensive O.R. Procedure Unrelated to Principal Diagnosis without CC/MCC - MS-DRG 989
  5. Nonextensive O.R. Procedure Unrelated to Principal Diagnosis with MCC: MS-DRG 987
  6. Other Respiratory System O.R. Procedures without CC/MCC: MS-DRG 168
  7. Extensive O.R. Procedure Unrelated to Principal Diagnosis without CC/MCC: MS-DRG 983
  8. Extensive O.R. Procedure Unrelated to Principal Diagnosis without CC/MCC: MS-DRG 983
  9. Other Respiratory System O.R. Procedures with CC: MS-DRG 167
  10. Other Digestive System Diagnoses with CC: MS-DRG 394
  11. Inflammatory Bowel Disease with CC: MS-DRG 386
  12. Major Gastrointestinal Disorders and Peritoneal Infections without CC/MCC: MS-DRG 372
  13. Other Respiratory System O.R. Procedures with MCC: MS-DRG 166
  14. Major Small and Large Bowel Procedures without CC/MCC: MS-DRG 331
  15. Major Small and Large Bowel Procedures with CC: MS-DRG 330
  16. Major Small and Large Bowel Procedures with MCC: MS- DRG 329
  17. Major Chest Procedures without CC/MCC: MS-DRG 165
  18. Major Chest Procedures with MCC: MS-DRG 163
  19. Major Chest Procedures with CC: MS-DRG 164
  20. Respiratory System Diagnosis with Ventilator Support 96+ Hours: MS-DRG 207
  21. Septicemia without Mechanical Ventilation 96+ Hours with MCC: MS-DRG 871
  22. Extensive O.R. Procedure Unrelated to Principal Diagnosis with MCC: MS-DRG 981
  23. Extensive O.R. Procedure Unrelated to Principal Diagnosis with CC: MS-DRG 982
  24. Nonextensive O.R. Procedure Unrelated to Principal Diagnosis with CC - MS-DRG 988
  25. Coagulation Disorders: MS-DRG 813

All of the above include this caveat:

(At this time, Medical Necessity excluded from review).

All the above include the same description and additional notes, as follows:

Description:

DRG Validation requires that diagnostic and procedural information and the discharge status of the beneficiary, as coded and reported by the hospital on its claim, matches both the attending physician description and the information contained in the beneficiary's medical record.  Reviewers will validate for MS DRG {XXX}, principal diagnosis, secondary diagnosis, and procedures affecting or potentially affecting the DRG.

Provider Type Affected:   Inpatient Hospital

Date of Service: 10/01/2007 - Open

States Affected: Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas

Additional Information:

Additional information can be found on the following manuals/publications:

ICD-9-CM for Hospitals Vol. 1, 2 & 3, Coding Guidelines, Section II, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H (2007 - 2009)

ICD-9-CM Addendums and Coding Clinics (2007 - 2009)

PIM Ch. 6.5.3, Section A-C  DRG Validation Review

It may be considered likely that the other RACs will shortly follow suit by posting similar or identical issues, in the next few weeks, which has been the history of these pages since they were first created.

Last Updated on Friday, 04 December 2009 04:14
 
New Govt Report Says Medicare Paid $47 Billion in Suspect Claims
Written by Team eduTrax   
Monday, 23 November 2009 00:00

eduTrax News Service - Nov. 23, 2009.

The government paid more than $47 billion in questionable Medicare claims including medical treatment showing little relation to a patient's condition, wasting taxpayer dollars at a rate nearly three times the previous year, according to the Associated Press (AP). The AP reports that excerpts from a new federal report show a dramatic increase in improper payments in the Medicare program. This report comes on the heels of a CMS report issued just a week ago showing only about half that amount ($24.1 billion) in erroneous payments for the same period. This newest report shows almost triple the error rate reported by the Bush Administration.

Last Updated on Monday, 23 November 2009 16:11
Read more...
 
New Health Care Fraud Bill Introduced in US Senate
Written by Team eduTrax   
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 21:11

Senator Ted Kaufman (D-DE) introduced the Health Care Fraud Enforcement Act of 2009, co-sponsored by Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Committee members Arlen Specter (D-PA), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), on October 28, 2009, follwing a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Effective Strategies for Preventing Health Care Fraud."

This new bill is meant to improve on the fraud-prevention efforts included in the Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee’s comprehensive health care reform bills, and intends to further strengthen the government’s capacity to investigate and prosecute waste, fraud and abuse in both government and private health insurance.

Read more...
 


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