County of Santa Clara and HCA Healthcare Reach Agreement for County to Pursue Acquisition of Regional Medical Center August 21, 2024 Read in Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tagalog SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. – The County of Santa Clara and HCA Healthcare have tentatively agreed on the County’s acquisition of Regional Medical Center (RMC). This move would enable the County to integrate RMC with the Santa Clara Valley Healthcare system operated by the County. RMC is one of three trauma centers in Santa Clara County and is the main emergency healthcare provider for East San José, treating a wide range of critical and life-threatening conditions. Earlier this month, HCA Healthcare downgraded the level of trauma, comprehensive stroke, ... August 28, 2024 General, Healthcare, Leadership, Patient Care, Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Blue Shield to significantly cut reimbursement of E/M services billed with modifier 25 and will no longer pay consult codes Blue Shield of California recently notified physicians of two upcoming changes to the payor’s policies. Effective July 14, 2024, Blue Shield will no longer reimburse for face-to-face consultation services (CPT codes 99242-99245 or 99252-99255). Additionally, the notice states it is changing its Global Surgical Period Payment Policy, which will significantly reduce reimbursement for evaluation and management (E/M) services billed with modifier 25. Consultation Codes Blue Shield is the latest payor to announce it will no longer reimburse consultation services. Consultation services, including telehealth consults, previously represented by CPT codes 99242-99245 and 99252-99255 ... May 28, 2024 Blue Shield, CMA, Coding Blue Shield, CMA, Consultaton Codes 0 0 Comment Read More »
Bay Area Health Officials Urge Vigilance as Measles Cases Rise in the US While the risk of measles exposure remains low for most Bay Area residents, the increasing number of cases nationwide and in California underscores the importance of robust protection against this highly contagious and dangerous illness. SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. - With measles on the rise nationally, and recent cases locally, the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department joins Bay Area health officials in urging everyone to be up to date on measles vaccinations and to watch for symptoms after travel or exposure. The best protection against measles is two doses ... April 2, 2024 Healthcare, Public Health Measels, Santa Clara County, Vaccinations 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS Issues FAQs on Change Healthcare/Optum Payment Disruption Accelerated & Advance Payments On March 13, CMS published FAQs related to the Change Healthcare/Optum payment disruption accelerated and advance payments. These go into detail about what services qualify for accelerated and advance payments, application criteria, terms of repayment, financial concerns, and other topics. As a reminder, the AMA has a website on the Change Healthcare cybersecurity issue that outlines the latest developments, information for physician practices, and related AMA advocacy. March 27, 2024 CMS, Healthcare CMS 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS Statement on Continued Action to Respond to the Cyberattack on Change Healthcare Press Releases CMS Statement on Continued Action to Respond to the Cyberattack on Change Healthcare Mar 09, 2024 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is continuing to monitor and assess the impact that the cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group’s subsidiary Change Healthcare has had on all provider and supplier types. Today, CMS is announcing that, in addition to considering applications for accelerated payments for Medicare Part A providers, we will also be considering applications for advance payments for Part B suppliers. Over the last few days, we have continued to meet with health plans, ... March 15, 2024 Advocacy, CMS, General, Medicare, Physician Wellness Advanced Medicare Payments, Billings, Cyber Attacks, Cybers, Important CMS Announcement, Medicaid Services, Payment 0 0 Comment Read More »
