The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is working with Congress, health care providers, and the beneficiary community to avoid disruption in the delivery of health care services and payment of claims for physicians, non-physician practitioners, and other providers of services paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). As you are aware, the Temporary Extension Act of 2010, enacted on March 2, 2010, extended the zero percent (0%) update to the 2010 MPFS through March 31, 2010.
CMS believes Congress is working to avert the negative update that will take effect April 1. Consequently, CMS has instructed its contractors to hold claims containing services paid under the MPFS (including anesthesia services) for the first 10 business days of April. This hold will only affect claims with dates of service April 1, 2010, and forward. In addition, the hold should have minimum impact on provider cash flow because, under the current law, clean electronic claims are not paid any sooner than 14 calendar days (29 for paper claims) after the date of receipt.
Be on the alert for more information about the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Update.
2010 Palmetto GBA J1 Spring Workshop Tour Kicks off April 16
The 2010 Palmetto GBA J1 Spring Workshop Tour is coming soon to a location near you! The three-month training and education series kicks off on Friday, April 16.
Dates: Friday, April 16 to Thursday, June 10
Registration Time: 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. unless otherwise noted
Workshop Session Time: 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. unless otherwise noted
Locations: J1 regional provider communities in California, Hawaii and Nevada
Cost: Free
During the tour, the Palmetto GBA J1 Provider Outreach and Education team will conduct half-day, in-person workshops in Jurisdiction 1's regional provider communities throughout California, Hawaii and Nevada. We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to connect with your Medicare Contractor and increase your knowledge of key Medicare policies and tools. Each workshop will include topics such as provider enrollment and Internet-based PECOS, recent Medicare program updates, J1 top billing and claim submission errors, the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) updates and much more.
Space is limited and different for each session, therefore, registration is on a first come, first served basis. To register or find out more about the workshops in your area, please log into your Palmetto GBA Workshops database account and register for the session you wish to attend.
Please note: Workshops in California and Nevada contain both Part A sessions and Part B sessions. The Part A session and the Part B session are held simultaneously in different conference rooms at the workshop facility. You may only register for either the Part A or the Part B session. The Part A sessions and the Part B sessions for Hawaii workshops will be held separately in different locations and on different dates.
Workshop registration closes one business day prior to the event.
