News in brief - June 19, 2000

HCFA eyes two Medicare codes for common errors - Doctor training for new Medicare data requirements planned

HCFA eyes two Medicare codes for common errors

Washington -- The Health Care Financing Administration recently mailed 600,000 physicians and group practices a two-page letter calling on physicians to help reduce Medicare's payment error rate.

In the June 1 letter, HCFA Administrator Nancy-Ann DeParle said Medicare carriers will focus their educational and claims review resources on two evaluation and management CPT codes -- 99214 and 99233. "These codes accounted for a significant portion of the coding errors in the last two audits," she said.

Medicare carriers must set up toll-free telephone lines this fall that will allow physicians to ask questions about billing, agency notices or other information, DeParle said. The letter is at HCFA's Web site (http://www.hcfa.gov/medicare/mip/physltr.htm).

Doctor training for new Medicare data requirements planned

Washington -- The Health Care Financing Administration will hold several training sessions throughout the country this summer to instruct physicians and others on the collection of data that accurately reflect the health status of the approximately 6 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the Medicare+Choice program. Physicians will be required to submit the data to HCFA beginning Oct. 1.

The agency will use the data to develop a new payment method, called risk adjustment, that will attempt to adequately compensate health plans that care for sicker beneficiaries.

Dates and locations for physician encounter data training sessions are: June 29-30 in Boston, July 6-7 in San Francisco, July 11-12 in Chicago, and July 17-18 in Atlanta. For more information or to register, go to HCFA's Web site (http://www.hcfa.gov/events/events.htm). Information is also available at (301) 519-6700 or by e-mail (encounterdata@aspensys.com).