CMS on April 14 released a ruling that nearly doubles Medicare Part B payment for rapid-result COVID-19 laboratory tests from about $51 per test to $100 per test. The payment increase applies to tests performed on or after March 18 and remains in effect until the end of the public health emergency.
As healthcare organizations battle the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, patients, providers, and public health organizations need specific, accurate data. Simple documentation guidelines and effective EHR interfaces will go a long way to easing the burden while ensuring documentation and coding remain correct and compliant.
The American Medical Association (AMA) announced on March 26 new CPT coding and reporting guidance for physicians and medical practices, intended to simplify reporting of in-person and online visit services for novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients.
CMS lifted some restrictions on telehealth coverage in a bid to keep non-critically ill patients out of clinics and hospitals to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), but other still apply to hospitals.
With the release of a new ICD-10-CM code for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), hospitals now have a method to capture and report this critical disease. Although the code itself is relatively straightforward and likely won’t stir up confusion the way coding for complex diagnoses (such as sepsis) does, correctly documenting and coding COVID-19 is crucial to turning the tide on the national public health emergency.
Providers and payers now have revised tabular and index information for new ICD-10-CM code U07.1 (COVID-19) issued today by the panel that maintains the diagnosis code set in the U.S.
