Brian

CMS Announces Revisions to Provider Enrollment Waiver Demonstration (PEWD) Program

Posted on by Brian Werfel

CMS Announces Revisions to Provider Enrollment Moratoria Access Waiver Demonstration (PEWD) Program On August 20, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a notice in the Federal Register that it would be revising the terms of its Provider Enrollment Moratoria Access Waiver Demonstration (PEWD) Program. These revisions became effective on August 20, 2018. Section 6401(a) of the Affordable Care Act granted CMS the authority to impose temporary moratoria on the enrollment of new Medicare providers and suppliers to the extent doing so was necessary to combat fraud or abuse. Based on this authority, CMS has implemented temporary moratoria on the enrollment of new non-emergency ambulance providers in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Under the Provider Enrollment Moratoria Access Waiver Demonstration (PEWD) Program, CMS has the authority to grant waivers to statewide enrollment moratorium on a case-by-case basis in response to access to care issues.  However, since the implementation of the PEWD Program in 2016, CMS has identified a handful of technical issues that have complicated the implementation of the PEWD Program.  The revisions in this notice are intended to resolve these technical issues. The specific revisions CMS is making include: In December 2016, Congress enacted the 21st...

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Brian

Talking Medicare: DOJ Settlement Highlights Importance of Exclusion Testing

Posted on by Brian Werfel

Talking Medicare: Recent DOJ Settlement Highlights Importance of Exclusion Testing On July 17, 2018, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine issued a press release on a settlement that had been reached with an ambulance service in Maine. As a result of this settlement, the ambulance service agreed to pay $16,776.74 to resolve allegations that it had submitted false claims to the Medicare and Maine Medicare Programs. While the Department of Justice’s press release referred to the matter as a civil health care fraud, that headline is somewhat misleading. The ambulance service was not alleged to “up-coded” its claims or to have billed for patients that did not require ambulance transportation. Rather, the ambulance service was accused of using monies paid to it by these federal health care programs to pay the salary and benefits of a woman hired to assist the company’s billing manager. The woman, who was not identified in news reports, had previously been excluded from participation in federal health care programs after surrendering her license as a pharmacy technician after being found to have inappropriately diverted certain controlled substances. The ambulance service apparently failed to conduct an exclusion test on this individual prior to placing...

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Brian

CMS Extends Moratorium on Non-Emergency Ground Services

Posted on by Brian Werfel

CMS Extends Temporary Moratorium on Non-Emergency Ground Ambulance Services in New Jersey and Pennsylvania The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that it intends to extend the temporary moratoria on the enrollment of new Medicare Part B non-emergency ground ambulance providers and suppliers in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  The extended moratoria will run through January 29, 2019.  Notice of the extension of the temporary moratorium will appear in the Federal Register on August 2, 2018. Section 6401(a) of the Affordable Care Act granted CMS the authority to impose temporary moratoria on the enrollment of new Medicare providers and suppliers to the extent doing so was necessary to combat fraud or abuse.  On July 31, 2013, CMS used this new authority to impose a moratorium on the enrollment of new ambulance providers in Houston, Texas and the surrounding counties.  On February 4, 2014, CMS imposed a second moratorium on newly enrolling ambulance providers in the Philadelphia metropolitan areas.  These moratoriums were subsequently extended on August 1, 2014, February 2, 2015, July 28, 2015, and February 2, 2016. On August 3, 2016, CMS announced changes to the moratoria on the enrollment of new ground ambulance suppliers. ...

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Kathy

CMS Non-Emergency Ambulance Transport Open Door Forum 7/26

Posted on by Kathy Lester

CMS Issues Data Elements and Templates for Non-Emergency Ambulance Transports (NEAT): Open Door Forum for Thursday, July 26, 2018 Just Announced As part of its Patients Over Paperwork Project, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Provider Compliance Group (PCG) has been hosting quarterly listening sessions and reviewing the Request for Information submissions. The American Ambulance Association has been actively engaged in these efforts, highlighting the recommendations we submitted to CMS and the House Ways & Means Committee last year. These recommendations included suggestions as to how CMS could streamline regulatory requirements to eliminate duplicative requirements and reduce regulatory burdens.  In addition to these efforts, CMS has been working to standardize documentation data elements and establish templates that providers and suppliers can use to help make the current documentation processes less burdensome as well. On July 24, CMS released draft documentation-related clinical data elements and clinical templates that could be used for the Physician Certification Statement, Progress Notes, and Prior Authorization requests. View the Documents. These documents are not intended to change current law. CMS also announced yesterday that it will discuss the templates on a Special Open Door Forum which is scheduled for July 26 at 2-3 pm ET. ...

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OIG Report on Overpayments For Non-Emergency Transports

Posted on by David Werfel

OIG Report – Overpayments For Non-Emergency Ambulance Transports To Non-Covered Destinations The Office of the Inspector General released its report “Medicare Improperly Paid Providers for Non Emergency Ambulance Transports to Destinations Not Covered by Medicare“. In sum, the OIG reviewed claims that Medicare paid for 2014 – 2016 non-emergency ambulance transports. The review focused on transports to non-covered destinations. OIG found that $8,633,940 was paid by Medicare for non-emergency ambulance transports under codes A0425 (ground mileage), A0426 (ALS non-emergency) and A0428 (BLS non-emergency) during this period of time. The review was based solely on the claims and not based on a medical review or interviews of providers. The claims that should not have been paid were to the following destinations: 59% – to diagnostic or therapeutic sites other than a hospital or physician’s office, that did not originate at a SNF. 31% – to a residence or assisted living facility (and not meeting the origin/destination requirement).  6% – to the scene of an acute event.  4% – to a destination code not used for ambulance claims or where no destination modifier was used. <1% – to a physician’s office. OIG recommended (and CMS agreed) that CMS: Notify the Medicare Administrative...

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CMS Open Door Forum & Follow Up AAA Member Q&A Call – Thursday, June 14

Posted on by AAA Staff

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has scheduled its next Ambulance Open Door Forum for Thursday, June 14 at 2:00 PM Eastern. If you plan to attend, please dial in at least 15 minutes before the call. CMS Ambulance Open Door Forum June 14 | 2:00 PM ET Participant Dial-In Number:  1-800-837-1935 Conference ID #: 33271311 Questions? Have more questions? The AAA is here to help! Following the Open Door Forum, the AAA will host a Q&A conference call open to all members. AAA Follow Up Q&A June 14 | 3:00 PM ET 1-800-250-2600 Pin: 73556603# Speakers: AAA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Tristan North; AAA Medicare Consultant, Brian Werfel, Esq.; AAA Healthcare Lobbyist, Kathy Lester, Esq.; AAA Medicare Regulatory Committee Chair, Rebecca Williamson; and AAA Medicare Regulatory Committee Vice-Chair, Angie McLain

Brian

Talking Medicare: A Good Thing Poorly Explained

Posted on by Brian Werfel

On April 13, 2018, CMS released two Transmittals, Transmittal 243 and Transmittal 4021, and a related MedLearns Matter Article (MM10550). Collectively, these documents clarify Medicare’s coverage of ambulance transportation of SNF residents in a stay not covered by Part B, but who have Part B benefits, to the nearest supplier of medically necessary services that are not available at the SNF. This clarification relates to both the ambulance transport to the site of medical care, and the return trip. In order to properly understand the clarification, it is helpful to review Medicare’s coverage of ambulance transportation provided to SNF residents. At the onset, it is important to note that Medicare draws a distinction between the first 100 days of a beneficiary’s SNF stay, and any subsequent days of the same stay. The first 100 days are commonly referred to as the “Part A Period.” Under current Medicare rules, all ambulance transportation provided during the Part A Period is the financial responsibility of the SNF, unless a specific exemption applies. Outside the Part A Period, Medicare’s coverage rules generally mirror the rules applicable to ambulance transports that originate at the patient’s residence. However, there is an exception that relates to transportation...

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Brian

Update on Medicare Reimbursement Issues

Posted on by Brian Werfel

The AAA would like to take this opportunity to update members on a number of issues related to Medicare reimbursement: CMS and its contractors have begun adjusting claims for ground ambulance services to reflect the restoration of the temporary add-ons. Section 50203(a) of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 retroactively reinstated the temporary add-ons for ground ambulance services. These add-ons increase the applicable Medicare allowables by 2% in urban areas, 3% in rural areas, and 22.6% in “super rural” areas (over and above the corresponding rural rate), retroactive to January 1, 2018. On a March 7, 2018 Open Door Forum, CMS indicated that it had updated the Medicare Ambulance fee schedule to reflect these higher rates, and that it has provided a Change Request to each of its Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs). The AAA has confirmed that all MACs have successfully implemented the new rates, and that all are paying current claims at the correct rate. The AAA has further confirmed that MACs have started to adjust 2018 claims paid at the original (lower) rates. Unfortunately, neither CMS nor its MACs have committed to a firm timetable for the completion of all required adjustments; however, a number of MACs have...

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