Compliance Plan | Manage My Practice

Posts Tagged compliance plan

The Best of Manage My Practice – November, 2011 Edition

Posted by Abraham Whaley on November 30, 2011

In between polishing off leftover turkey and stuffing, we’re looking back over some of our most popular posts from the month in case you might’ve missed them the first go round. Thankfully Presenting, The Best of Manage My Practice, November 2011!

Compliance: a critical issue for all practices, but a subject so expansive, where do you even begin? Learn the “Big Three” with Stark, False Claims and Anti-Kickback Laws: Easy Ways to Stay Compliant with the Big Three in Healthcare
Are your record retention policies up to date? Can you say with confidence that you have hard copies of everything you should? Find out with Record Retention Simplified – The Ultimate Guideline
Are you or someone you know thinking about Medical Coding as a a possible career? Follow along with Coder Bob in Tales of a Coder Part III: School Begins
Are you the kind of leader that can see your group through the toughest of times? Bob Cooper asks practice managers in Are You a Resilient Leader?

We’ve started this monthly wrap-up to make sure you don’t miss any of the great stuff we post throughout the month on Manage My Practice, but we also want to hear from you! What were your favorite posts and discussions this month? Did we skip over your favorite from November? Let us know in the comments!

Tags: Anti-Kickback Statute, Compliance, compliance plan, crisis, crisis situations, False Claims Law, healthcare, healthcare compliance, leaders, Leadership, leadership in crisis, Medical Billing and Coding, Record Retention, Stark Law

Posted in: A Career in Practice Management, General, Leadership

Stark, False Claims and Anti-Kickback Laws: Easy Ways to Stay Compliant with the Big Three in Healthcare

Posted by Abraham Whaley on November 20, 2011

In health care, we are “blessed” with an abundance of rules, policies, standards and laws. In Health Care Regulation in America: Complexity, Confrontation, and Compromise, Robert I. Field, professor of health management and policy at Drexel University School of Public Health, observes the following:

“Regulation shapes all aspects of America’s fragmented health care industry, from the flow of dollars to the communication between physicians and patients. It is the engine that translates public policy into action. While the health and lives of patients, as well as almost one-sixth of the national economy depend on its effectiveness, health care regulation in America is bewilderingly complex.”

Here are some of the most important regulations in health care that you should not only know about, but should be actively managing with a robust compliance plan.

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Tags: Anti-Kickback Statute, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMS, Compliance, compliance plan, False Claims Act, healthcare, medical practice management, self-referral law, Stark Law

Posted in: Collections, Billing & Coding, Compliance, Day-to-Day Operations, General

The Right Way to Do Write-offs

Posted by Mary Pat Whaley on September 26, 2011

A write-off is an amount that a practice deducts from a charge and does not expect to collect, thereby “writing it off” the accounts receivable or list of monies owed them by payers or patients.

There are lots of reasons why write-offs are taken, and it is common practice to divide write-offs into two major categories.

Necessary or Approved Write-offs

These are write-offs that you have agreed to, either in the context of a contract, or in terms of your practice philosophy.

Contractual write-offs are the difference between the practice fee schedule and the allowable fee schedule you’ve agreed to accept.

Charity write-offs are the difference between the practice fee schedule and anything collected. Charity write-offs may be in accordance with a community indigent care effort, a policy adhered to in a faith-led healthcare system, or a financial assistance program.

Small balance write-offs are amounts left on the patient’s account that may not warrant the cost of sending a bill, which has been estimated to cost about $12.00 each, taking into account the statement process, as well as the cost to receive the check, post it, and deposit it. Many practices write off the small balance (usually $15 or less) and collect it when the patient returns. Others run a special small balance statement run once a quarter.

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Tags: administrative write-offs, audit write-offs, bad debt write-offs, benchmark for bad debt, charity write-offs, collection agency, collection agency write-offs, compliance plan, contractual write-offs, how much bad debt is acceptable?, how to run a medical practice, Medicaid, Medicare, patient, payment, practice management, prompt payment discounts, revenue cycle management, self-pay discounts, small balance write-offs, timely filing write-offs, uncredentailed providers write-offs, what are write-offs?, Write-off

Posted in: Collections, Billing & Coding, Compliance

Dear Mary Pat: How Do I Handle Chart Audit Requests From Payers?

Posted by Mary Pat Whaley on April 19, 2010

When a payer or health plan calls your practice and requests records or requests an on-site visit to review charts, follow this guideline:

Be professional at all times. Audits can be nerve-wracking and can be a drain on internal resources, but there is always something to be learned from the process.
Ask for the request in writing, to include the names of the patients whose charts will be accessed, the dates of service covered under the audit, the name of the auditor, the specific reason for the audit, what the result from the audit will entail (warnings, sanctions, grading, etc.) and if the result will be published in any form anywhere. Request that the specific information culled from the audit be shared with your practice in an usable form.
Review your contract with the payer for any language related to the payer’s rights to access information, the description of the information, and any payment due to the practice for the labor and resources used in producing the records. Check with your state insurance laws for any information regarding such requests. Note that Medicare Advantage plans do not have contracts with practices, so you do have the right to charge for the labor and resources necessary to produce records.
When the information arrives from the payer, confirm that the patients named in the audit have records in your practice.
If the explanation for the audit is unclear, request more in-depth information in writing.
Review records or charts requested by the payer and be sure to remove any documentation that does not specifically refer to the dates being included in the audit. Do not give the entire chart to the auditor.
For practices with EMRs, print the appropriate documentation for the auditor if they request an on-site visit. Do not give the entire chart to the auditor.
If you are satisfied that all requirements are being met by the payer, schedule the audit, or arrange for records to be sent. If coming on-site, arrange for a quiet place for the auditor to review records, preferably close to you so you can observe, answer questions and ask questions.
Analyze the feedback received to improve any areas needed and document your effort as a part of your compliance plan. Have all practice employees sign off on any compliance plan updates.

Tags: auditor, chart review, compliance plan, contract language, date of service, documentation, EMR, medical record audit, Medicare Advantage, payer audit, payer contract, record request, sanctions, warnings

Posted in: Day-to-Day Operations, Medicare & Reimbursement