In January, new CPT codes were released. There were 248 new CPT codes added, 71 deleted and 75 revised. Most of the surgery section changes were in the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular subsections. These included procedures such as skin grafting, breast biopsies, deep drug delivery systems, tricuspid valve repairs, aortic grafts and repair of iliac artery.
Coding Review
Client S: $556 increase/record reviewed
“Client S” is a small, not-for-profit, 40 bed micro-hospital in the Southeast. HIA performed a 65-record review this year for Client S and found an opportunity with 15 of them. 9 had an increased reimbursement with a total of $43,228 found.
Client X: Let’s Talk Numbers
A higher CMI corresponds to increased consumption of resources and increased cost of patient care, resulting in increased reimbursement to the facility from government and private payers, like CMS. We know that documentation directly impacts coding.
Part 3: Top 3 CM Chapters 2019 from ProFee Reviews
In 2019, we reviewed over 50,000 diagnosis codes from many different specialties for our Professional Fee clients. For the final part of this 3-part series, we will look at R00-R99 – Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified.
Part 2: Top 3 CM Chapters 2019 from ProFee Reviews
The Circulatory chapter is one that is identified every year as having a large number of coding changes. Many of these changes are related to documentation providing more specificity and, in some cases, less specificity than the codes reported. Below we will discuss some of the areas of opportunity in this chapter.
Part 1: Top 3 CM Chapters 2019 from ProFee Reviews
In 2019, we reviewed over 50,000 diagnosis codes from many different specialties for our Professional Fee clients. Here are the top three ICD-10-CM chapters where HIA identified coding opportunities: Z00-Z99 – Factors influencing health status and contact with health services; I00-I99 – Circulatory system and; R00-R99 – Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified.
What’s the Best Defense? A Good Offense
The official definition from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) states that a Medicare overpayment is a payment that exceeds amounts properly payable under Medicare statutes and regulations. When Medicare identifies an overpayment, the amount becomes a debt you owe the Federal government.
OIG Takes Notice of Coding Errors
Back in April, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published a report detailing its findings from a review of two groups of high-risk diagnosis codes, acute stroke and major depressive disorder. The objective was to determine whether selected diagnosis codes submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for use in CMS’s risk adjustment program complied with Federal requirements.