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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 February 25, 2008 (full PDF issue) |
| ICD-10 is back! President seeks new funding for Medicare transition from ICD-9 coding system
Local labs, industry groups battle Medicare bidding demo on legal, legislative fronts: see Focus
—Legal skirmishes in San Diego court case
—Status of demo repeal on Capitol Hill
Billing Advisory: Critical dates from now to May to keep in mind about Medicare’s changeover to NPI-only claims, transactions
ACLA urges amendment to final report on genetic test oversight, clarifying roles for CMS/CLIA and the FDA
Patient safety proposal would protect providers from legal liability when voluntarily reporting medical errors
Join us for our upcoming Molecular Diagnostics conference, April 30-May 2
Full Article |
| Pathology, Lab Priorities Riding on New Medicare Bill |
| Pathologists and clinical laboratories have a lot at stake in the outcome of new Medicare legislation that is expected to move in Congress during the first half of this year. At this point, this appears to be the most promising vehicle for enactment of some of their key legislative priorities left over from last year.
Full Article |
| San Diego Labs to Press On to Stop Medicare Bidding Demo |
| Though a federal court has denied a motion by three San Diego- area clinical laboratories to halt Medicare’s competitive bidding demonstration prior to the February 15 deadline to submit bids, the labs have until the end of this month to show cause why their lawsuit against the project should not be dismissed.
Full Article |
| The ICD-10 Is Back! |
| The President’s budget request for fiscal 2009, released earlier this month, has revived the initiative to switch the Medicare program from the ICD-9 coding system to ICD-10 and proposes new spending of $40.3 million for the transition to be completed by 2011.
Full Article |
| Labs Wage Legal, Legislative Battle Against Medicare Demo |
| While three San Diego-area clinical laboratories press ahead with their lawsuit to stop the Medicare competitive bidding demonstration from being launched in their locale, the 10 national lab and pathology groups participating in the Clinical Laboratory Coalition back the effort and continue to lobby Congress to enact bipartisan legislation pending in the House and the Senate to repeal the demo.
Full Article |
| ACLA to SACGHS: Clarify CMS, FDA Roles in Genetic Test Oversight |
| Contrary to the squabbling in the presidential primaries, words have meaning—and they have the power to steer both thought and action, as George Orwell drove home forcefully in 1984. And that’s the point of recent comments made by the American Clinical Laboratory Association to the HHS Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health & Society (SACGHS).
Full Article |
| NPI News: CMS Clarifies Key Medicare Implementation Dates |
| Citing confusion among providers, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a chart of critical dates between now and May 23 for Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) implementation of the National Provider Identifier (NPI). The chart illustrates expected claim results for different identifiers, or combinations thereof, submitted in the primary provider fields on the Medicare FFS 837P and the CMS-1500. When the chart indicates that claims will be paid, this would be only if no other errors (non-NPI) exist, CMS notes.
Full Article |
| Legal Liability Safeguards Proposed for Reporting Medical Errors |
| The HHS Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality released a proposed rule in the February 12 Federal Register that would establish patient safety organizations (PSOs) and procedures by which healthcare providers can voluntarily report medical errors to the PSOs without fearing legal liability. The PSOs will collect and analyze medical data that can be aggregated to uncover trends in patient treatment that would help lower the incidence of medical errors.
Full Article |
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