On August 24, 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a final rule, making official a one-year delay to the compliance date for the new ICD-10 codes. The original deadline was October 1, 2013. This rule makes the new compliance date October 1, 2014. Alpha Review is on track to meet the compliance date.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Illinois Proposes PPP Rules
The Illinois Department of Insurance has published its' proposed rules for Preferred Provider Programs (PPPs) under 2011's House Bill 1698. There will now be a 45-day period where comments regarding the proposed rules can be submitted to either Joe Clennon or Susan Anders at the Illinois Department of Insurance. The full document is available here and begins on page 6356 of the Illinois Register.
Friday, April 27, 2012
AMA Supports IAIABC Model Rule for Medical E-billing
On April 25, 2012, the American Medical Association (AMA) issued a press release stating they are endorsing the IAIABC model rules for medical e-billing. The IAIABC calls for "adopting a nationally-recognized set of uniform standards to guide electronic billing in the workers' compensation system." This is important because states such as Georgia, Texas and Minnesota already have some form of e-billing initiative in place based on the IAIABC model rules. Furthermore, other states including Illinois, North Carolina, California and Louisiana are in various stages of adopting similar initiatives based on this model.
Friday, March 30, 2012
WCRI Medical Price Index
Recently, the Workers' Compensation Research Institute released their "WCRI Medical Price Index for Workers' Compensation, Fourth Edition (MPI-WC)." Among the findings in this report, which studied 25 large states that make up approximately 80% of the workers' compensation benefits paid in the United States, are:
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
IWCC Proposes Rules Updating Medical Fee Schedule Changes
The Illinois Workers Compensation Commission (IWCC) has issued proposed rules to amend the medical fee schedule to reflect the changes made in legislation passed in 2011. These amendments implement the changes that were included in HB 1698, such as:
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
WCRI Illinois Baseline Report
Recently, the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) released its "Baseline for Monitoring the Impact of 2011 Reforms in Illinois: CompScope Benchmarks, 12th Edition" report. The purpose is to provide some baseline information to evaluate the impact of HB 1698. Some of the highlights of the report are below. All figures are prior to the 2011 reform.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Pennsylvania Proposal for Reform
According to the 2010 study by the Oregon Department of Consumer & Business Services, Pennsylvania has the 14th highest employer costs in the nation. As a result, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry has drafted a proposal for reform that would update the state's workers' compensation system. Some of the proposed changes are:
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Express Scripts Unveils Fraud Detection
Earlier this week, Express Scripts introduced their new Comprehensive Fraud, Waste and Abuse (FWA) program for their workers' compensation clients. The following is an excerpt from their press release (of which the full version can be found here) that briefly describes the program.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
PPACA and eBilling
Below is an excerpt from an article by Alpha Review's eBilling partner, Jopari Solutions. This highlights some of the changes on the horizon in the P&C world and the 53 billion reasons for them. The full article can be found here.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Client Success Story!
Scenario:
While working, the employee sustained an injury when they were accidentally stuck with a used syringe. Per protocol, the employee was sent for urgent care where a battery of tests were performed. During the course of these tests, it was discovered the claimant was also suffering from hypertension. The claimant was admitted and kept under observation for three days before being released. The billed charges totaled $15,749.13.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Introducing the New ARC Newsletter/Blog
I would like to welcome you to the new Alpha Review Corporation Newsletter/Blog! Please check this space frequently for updated news as it relates to the ever-changing world of workers' compensation, as well as exciting changes at Alpha Review!
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