Why Multi-Provider Dermatology Practices Struggle With Modifier Accuracy

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Running a multi-provider dermatology practice looks efficient on paper. More providers mean more patients, more procedures, and more revenue. But behind the scenes, there’s a quiet profit killer most practices underestimate: modifier accuracy. If modifiers were simple, payers wouldn’t obsess over them. And if dermatology weren’t procedure-heavy, mistakes wouldn’t be so expensive. Combine both with multiple providers, and you’ve got a perfect storm. Let’s break down exactly why this keeps happening—and why even well-run dermatology groups struggle to get it right. Understanding Modifier Accuracy in Dermatology Billing What Are CPT Modifiers? Modifiers are two-character codes appended to CPT codes to explain that a service was altered without changing its definition. Sounds harmless, right? Except modifiers directly affect reimbursement, bundling, and audit risk. Think of modifiers as footnotes to a legal contract. One wrong footnote, and the whole thing gets challenged. Why Modif...
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Eliminating Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) Medical Billing Complication

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Medical billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities has undergone metamorphic changes ever since the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 came into effect in 1998. One of the significant requirements under the new legislation is that Skilled Nursing Facilities are not permitted to unbundle services administered by contracted healthcare providers. As a result, most of the services provided to Medicare beneficiaries are to be bundled together and billed by SNFs under the Prospective Payment System (PPS) in one consolidated claim. The SNF concerned is then responsible to pay for contracted services out of the per diem rate that it earns for caring for a Medicare beneficiary.

Eliminating Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) Medical Billing Complication

While this imposition may have helped reduce potential fraud and abuse due to double billing by healthcare providers, SNFs have certainly had a hard time understanding:

  • What services are covered under consolidated billing
  • What is billable under Medicare Part A
  • What is billable under Medicare Part B
  • State-specific Medicaid protocols and Methodologies for SNFs Medical Billing
  • Commercial health insurance plans and their dynamics

Though most of the services offered to a resident under Medicare Part A are allowed to be included in the consolidated billing, certain services deemed costly or requiring specialization must not be appended with the consolidated billing. Generally, physician’s professional services; certain dialysis-related services, including covered ambulance transportation to obtain the dialysis services; certain ambulance services, including transporting the beneficiary to the SNF initially, transporting from the SNF at the end of the stay (other than when involving transfer to another SNF), and transporting round-trip during the stay temporarily offsite to receive dialysis or certain types of intensive or emergency outpatient hospital services; erythropoietin for certain dialysis patients; certain chemotherapy drugs; certain chemotherapy administration services; radioisotope services; and customized prosthetic devices are excluded.

The services that are excluded under Medicare Part A should be billed under Medicare Part B, which allows medically necessary services to be reimbursed under the ‘Fee For Service’ (FFS) system. It is possible that SNFs may not have been entirely thorough with these procedures, resulting in billing inefficiencies.

Even as most SNFs need to bill Medicare Part A and Part B, SNFs could operate under the state-specific Medicaid ambit. And, because each of the 50 states in the U.S. may have its own Medicaid program, SNFs should invariably have to bill under their state-specific Medicaid rules and regulations. This region-specific compliance too may have had a considerable impact on SNF billing.

To learn more about Eliminating Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) Medical Billing Complication, click here: https://bit.ly/3W5s5re  Contact us at info@medicalbillersandcoders.com/ 888-357-3226.

Location: United States

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