New seminars is September 2013

New seminars is September 2013. See you soon in Washington State and Michigan.
For locations and dates, please see the Seminar Calendar link above or call our office.

Free Webinar "EHR Stimulus - Why Moving Now Matters"

Free Webinar "EHR Stimulus - Why Moving Now Matters"
Newsletter
July 10, 2013

The EHR Stimulus payout amount will soon drop! Simply participate in our free webinar to learn how easy it really is to get your EHR stimulus check in the full amount*.
Join ChiroTouch and Dr. Gary Street “Medicare Guru” to learn about this government program. We will also have a Q&A with other practices that have gone through the process in 2012 and have received their checks.
Don’t lose out! Join our free webinar and:
• Learn what steps you can take to qualify for your EHR Stimulus funds
• Learn what your EHR system needs to provide
• Hear from chiropractors who have already attested and received their funds
• Get the latest developments on the EHR Stimulus Program
Thousands of chiropractors have received their five-figure checks from the EHR Stimulus Program - And more chiropractors have received their funds using ChiroTouch than any other software solution in chiropractic!
*Maximum payouts based on current ARRA EHR Stimulus Program

Thursday, July 11th, 10:00 AM Pacific/11:00 AM Mountain/12:00 PM Central/1:00 PM Eastern Time
Registration, follow this link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/223233354

NOW IS THE TIME – DO IT TODAY!

Questions – If you have questions, or simply need information, give me a call and I will do my best to help you. This is probably the most important decision of your Chiropractic career!
Plan to attend our future Seminars:
Thursday, July 25th 1:00 to 5:00 pm
St. Louis, MO at the Hampton Inn, Westport
Call our office (618) 395-3800 to register

EHR, CBR, CAQH

Newsletter
February 25, 2013
Chiropractic Medicare
1. EHR-Registration and Attestation System.
( How much will YOU get paid?)
2. CMS A+ Government Solutions – “Comparative Billing Report, CBR Desseminator.
3. CAQH Update Reminder.
1. Meaningful Use:
We can go through the 15 core operatives, the computerized provider order entry (CPOE), drug-drug and drug-allergy checks, up to date problem list of diagnosis, E-Prescripting (eRx), or maintaining active medication list or allergy list....
Wait....it’s better than this!
First impression is that it is very difficult. Not true. It’s much easier than you think. First, you must have a certified “software”. We use “ChiroTouch”. Your certified software will walk you right through the process so you can register and attest. Don’t wait. If you have not moved on this, you are presently in the final window. You are still able to attest and receive $15,000 incentive dollars for 2013.
2. A+ Government Solutions on contract from CMS has faxed again around 5000 Medicare Comparative Billing reports. If you received by fax, this report, then you are now aware you are above your peers in either the number of visits you are seeing your Medicare patients or the CPT Codes used when billing for your Medicare patients. The report is an effort by CMS to educate providers on their billing patterns, this being helpful as an educational tool which may assist you in identifying opportunities for improvement.
Since the Office of Inspector General believes that billing Medicare with the AT modifier over 12 visits per year is medically unnecessary, and that the likelihood of a service being medically unnecessary increases even more significantly after 24 “treatments”, this report should spark your interest.
I recommend reviewing this report very carefully, compare with your in-house records for the report accuracy. If you find the CMS Comparative Billing Report statistics are incorrect, call them for corrections.
3. CAQH – Just a reminder.....the Universal Provider Data Source must be kept up-to-date. If you need to update the CAQH Universal Provider Data Source https://Upd.caqh.org/oas or Provider help desk at (888) 599-1771. Have your CAQH provider ID available.

PQRS “WE ARE IN THE FINAL WINDOW!!!”

Newsletter
January 11, 2013
Chiropractic Medicare
“WE ARE IN THE FINAL WINDOW!!!”

So many calls about PQRS. So many of my colleagues not taking this seriously. Becoming Medicare Compliant is a “voluntary” process they say. Let us understand what the government means by “voluntary”.

You voluntarily pay your income taxes. Oh, so you don’t have to if you don’t want to! However, your life as you now know it “will change!” The same for Medicare Compliance, becoming paperless and following the Physicians Quality Reporting System (PQRS). If you wish to be in Chiropractic practice in 2017, you better make use of this “final” window we are now in.

Who has to do this? Everyone and anyone seeing and billing Medicare patients. It’s that simple. If you adjust a Medicare patient, federal law requires you to bill Medicare within one year. You must become Medicare Compliant, use electronic billing and record keeping, and apply the PQRS Codes.

For more helpful links to information about PQRS and other Medicare related click here, or follow this address:  http://chiropracticmedicare.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

2013 Fees and PQRS Information

Newsletter
January 2, 2013
Chiropractic Medicare
"Opening the Final Voluntary Window"



To my fellow Chiropractors.........
Congress passed, just last night, Section 1848(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-4(d)) that amended by adding a paragraph that updated the single conversion factor for such year shall be zero percent. In other words, our fees are the same as last year and we again escaped a nearly 24% cut in our Medicare reimbursement fees for 98940-98942. Below, find the website for your interest.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr8eas/pdf/BILLS-112hr8eas.pdf


January 1, 2013 is the beginning of the final voluntary window to do PQRS. So lets talk about "voluntary " window. You can compare voluntary window with paying your income taxes. You have a voluntary time factor to pay your income taxes. If you pass up the voluntary window to pay your taxes, it is going to cost you more in the long run and you begin to lose privileges.

Now you are beginning to get the idea of "voluntary". PQRS is exactly the same. You have a choice. You can voluntarily implement the PQRS program and even receive an incentive for doing so in this final window....or you can pass this FINAL window of voluntary opportunity, don't do anything in regards to PQRS and get prepared to receive financial cuts in, not only Medicare, but nearly all insurance companies from now on.

Plus, you will begin to lose privileges of even dealing with some insurance companies and probably a dollar cap on any patient having insurance that you adjust for cash. And, since we Chiropractors can not opt out of Medicare and are required to bill Medicare for all covered services, your Medicare fees will continue to drop, making NO difference whether you are a participating or non-participating provider.

For the Chiropractor who says, "We don't do Medicare. We adjust the Medicare patient, collect cash from the patient and don't bill Medicare." Hold on for the ride! When you get caught...and you will get caught...the fines are up to $10,000.00 per adjustment. Just like not paying your income taxes.

I am guessing only about 35% of my fellow Chiropractors are prepared for PQRS. I strongly recommend, as I have for the last 18 months, BITE THE BULLET and make it happen NOW!

Here are some helpful links about PQRS:
https://www.cms.gov/PQRS
https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/PQRS/downloads/2012PQRS_SatisfRprtng-Claims_Final508_1-13-2012.pdf


 

IMPORTANT DEADLINE 12-12-12 FOR PQRS

Newsletter
December 11, 2012
IMPORTANT DEADLINE 12-12-12 FOR PQRS
(Physician Quality Reporting System)

 

The Chiropractors in our Chiropractic profession have worked for over 100 years to help Chiropractic grow and be accepted by the public. We have been very successful in being included into insurance plans, Medicare, Medicaid, PPO's, etc. However, now that we are in Medicare we have to meet qualifications and demands by the Federal Government to take part in reporting certain quality measures due to healthcare reform.

Please see link to the CMS Website for more information about PQRS (Physician Quality Reporting System):
 https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/PQRS/downloads/2012PQRS_SatisfRprtng-Claims_Final508_1-13-2012.pdf

To determine if you are eligible to participate in PQRS:  
https://www.cms.gov/PQRS

Even though it is a voluntary program with incentives, it is also a program that will take away from your future earnings if you do not participate.

My guess is about 5 Chiropractors out of every 25 are participating in PQRS. This is NOT A GAME! This is serious business! We are going into the final window of opportunity.

The Physicians Quality Reporting System (PQRS), was introduced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and a new part of healthcare reform. The program created in 2007, established a financial incentive to eligible healthcare professionals to participate in a voluntary quality reporting program. Providers who participate and report quality measures receive a 0.5% payment incentive.

Why is it so important? CMS recently ruled that providers not successfully participating in PQRS by 2013 reporting period (January 1 - December 31, 2013), will have their Medicare reimbursement decreased by 1.5% beginning in 2015, and 2% in 2016. The 2012 reporting period is the last opportunity providers have to voluntarily participate.

It is easier than you think. However, it requires a certified software company to walk you through the paces. Please follow the links and get informed.