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This biweekly newsletter provides concise, independent coverage and analysis of fast-breaking lab, pathology, blood banking, imaging and diagnostic radiology news from the Nation's Capital.
You'll find out about:
- Medicare payment and policy directives Billing guidelines and coding changes for diagnostic facilities
- CLIA & MQSA regulatory mandates, changes and interpretations
- Congressional actions & legislative initiatives
- Federal compliance requirements
- OIG anti-fraud initiatives
- Stark self-referral prohibitions
Plus you will get other legal news regarding FDA oversight of in vitro diagnostics, blood banks, and radiological devices OSHA, NRC, and state safety standards.
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 | NIR January 29, 2007 (full PDF issue) |
| Blood glucose and LDL cholesterol testing included in Medicare’s physician voluntary reporting measures
Doctors’ fees should rise 1.7% in 2008, MedPAC advises
Shifting political winds on healthcare reform—see Focus
—California’s plan for universal coverage
—Business, labor, provider, and consumer groups to lobby for major reforms
—Congress open for discussion, but wary of bold steps before ’08 elections
—Bills in the works to expand coverage for the uninsured
AAB Registry exams approved for California MT, MLT licensure
Medicare Regulatory Briefs
—New billing codes for breast cancer screening, diagnosis
—Medicare interest rate rises
Diabetes, cancer screening fall short of other quality gains
Full Article |
| CMS Spells Out Details on Physician Bonus Pay |
| For six months this year, from July 1 through December 31, Medicare is authorized to make a 1.5% bonus payment to physicians who voluntarily report certain quality performance measures on their claims. The payments were approved in the Tax Relief & Health Care Act of 2006, and $300 million was set aside for the bonus payout pool.
Full Article |
| President Joins Growing Debate on Expanding Health Coverage |
| In his January 23 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush proposed two new healthcare reform priorities, calling for a tax deduction to help individuals buy private insurance coverage and pledging to support state initiatives to cover the growing number of uninsured, now estimated at 47 million Americans.
Full Article |
| Shifting Political Winds Among States, on Capitol Hill Favor Greater Expansion of Healthcare Coverage |
| Prospects for a new national discussion of broad-scale reform of U.S. healthcare—politically moribund since 1994 when President Bill Clinton’s initiative collapsed and the Democrats lost control of the House—surged into the spotlight this month.
Full Article |
| Medicare Regulatory Briefs |
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New Billing Codes for Breast Cancer Screening, Diagnosis
Medicare Part B is assigning the following new codes, effective January 1, 2007, for screening and diagnostic mammography codes. While these codes replace the current codes, the CPT code descriptors for the services are unchanged. Also, frequency limits for screening mammography under the Part B preventive services benefit will be applied to codes 77052 and 77057. …
Full Article |
| AAB Registry Exams Approved for California Licensure |
| The American Association of Bioanalysts’ Board of Registry examinations for MT (Clinical Laboratory Scientist, CLS) and MLT (Medical Laboratory Technician) have been approved for licensure purposes in California, AAB administrator Mark Birenbaum, PhD, recently announced. The effective date of the approval for both exams is January 1, 2007.
Full Article |
| Diabetes & Cancer Screening Lag Behind in Quality Gains |
| Despite quality gains for certain healthcare services, screening for diabetes, colorectal cancer, obesity, and asthma lagged far behind gains in other preventive medicine, the HHS Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality recently announced in two annual reports that provide a "snapshot" of the U.S. healthcare system.
Full Article |
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