A few spots remain open for the Basics of Sleep Center Management course, which will be held on Mar 3, 2012 at the AASM national office in Darien, IL.  Chaired by Dr. Amy Aronsky, the basics course is targeted to new sleep center managers or to staff looking to take on a management role. Sleep center managers will also want to take advantage of the Intermediate Sleep Center Management Series, a two day course chaired by Dr. Eric Olson.  The Intermediate Series will be held on Apr 21-22, 2012 at the AASM national office in Darien, IL.  Registration for this course is currently available with an advanced registration savings deadline of Mar 23, 2012.

In an news release published Feb 16, 2012, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced that HHS is initiating a process to postpone the compliance date for the use of International Classification of Disease, 10th Edition (ICD-10) diagnosis and procedure codes.  The current compliance date, as mandated in a January 2009 final rule, is Oct. 1, 2013.

CMS has released guidance about the appeals process for health care providers who have failed to receive meaningful use incentive payments or are seeking to challenge their payout amount. Under the 2009 economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health record systems can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has developed a series of 11 podcasts addressing compliance training topics. The videos posted last week and this week address the development and implementation of a compliance program. In “Compliance Program Basics,” OIG staff highlights their Compliance Program Guidance (CPGs) resources. Tips for Implementing an Effective Compliance Program” builds on the concepts learned in the Basics podcast. The OIG training podcasts are available in audio only and video format on the OIG website. A transcript of each podcast is also available.

The deadline for implementation of Version 5010 was Jan. 1 2012. However, as previously reported in the Dec 5 2011 Weekly Update, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have delayed enforcement of this requirement for 90 days. Therefore, enforcement actions will not begin until April 1, 2012. In a recent statement, CMS encouraged providers to continue internal and external testing of Version 5010. To assist providers with a smooth transition, CMS has developed a new fact sheet highlighting important steps for health care providers. CMS strongly encourages providers to communicate regularly with applicable vendors. Use of a clearinghouse is also recommended during the transition to ensure that claims are submitted in the proper format. Finally, CMS identifies a number of transition resources, which can be downloaded on the CMS ICD-10 website.

In Nov 2011, CMS sponsored an extensive teleconference to prepare providers for the transition to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). On Jan 4, 2012 CMS announced that it would provide the content of the Nov conference call in a podcast format. The podcast, as well as a number of other ICD-10 transition resources, are available on the CMS website.

The Department and of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published an interim final rule, effective Jan. 1, 2012, outlining standards under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for Health Care Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT) and Remittance Advice transactions (RA). By standardizing and streamlining electronic transactions, CMS projects that the new standards will reduce administrative costs by $4.5 billion for providers, hospitals, and private and government health plans over the next ten years. CMS anticipates that there will be little to no implementation costs for physician practices and hospitals complying with the new standards. HIPAA covered entities must be in compliance with the standards outlined in the rule by Jan 1, 2014.

On Jan 3 the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) posted a new compliance training video addressing the Physician Self-Referral Law, also known as the “Stark Law.”  A transcript of the presentation is also available.

In an announcement on December 22, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid notified health professionals of an extension of the 2012 Annual Participation Enrollment Period. The enrollment period will now run Mon Nov 14, 2011 through Tues Feb 14, 2012. Participation elections or withdrawals post-marked on or before Tue Feb 14, 2012 will be accepted. Participation status changes submitted during the extension period (Jan 1 – Feb 14, 2012) will have an effective date of Sun Jan 1, 2012 and will be in force for the entire year.