For Physicians

Contact CMS if receiving ePrescribing penalty in error

Have your Medicare payments been reduced by the ePrescribing penalty? The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is willing to reconsider the cases of physicians who believe they have been penalized in error.

Having heard from many physicians who may have received the 1 percent penalty deduction in error, the AMA secured CMS's commitment to reconsider the cases of physicians who believe they fulfilled the 2011 Medicare ePrescribing program requirements or applied for a hardship exemption.

Some common scenarios that may allow you to avoid the penalty include:

• You ePrescribed in 2011, but the G8533 code was removed from the claims you submitted to Medicare. (For example, your billing vendor or clearinghouse mistakenly removed the code.) You must have documentation of your ePrescribing activity.
• You reported the wrong G-code on your claims. (For instance, you used a 2009 ePrescribing code instead of the 2011 code.) You must have documentation of your ePrescribing activity.
• Your hardship exemption request was denied because you included your group National Provider Identifier (NPI) rather than your individual NPI.
• You filed a hardship exemption request but did not receive a response from CMS.

Other hardships may qualify you to receive an exemption to the penalty. Call CMS's Quality Net Help Desk at (866) 288-8912 or send an email to present your case.

AMA members: Discuss the issues with AMA president

Join AMA President Peter W. Carmel, MD, on his final Office Hours conference call at 7 p.m. Eastern time April 19.

Office Hours with Dr. Carmel is an hourlong call that provides an interactive forum for two-way discussion between Dr. Carmel and AMA members. Ask Dr. Carmel a question about an issue that's important to you or share a particular concern. Participants can submit questions ahead of time or ask them during the call.

At the outset of the call, Dr. Carmel will update AMA members on the latest issues affecting the practice of medicine. Then he will answer your questions and discuss topics on your mind.

After the call, Dr. Carmel will share your thoughts with the AMA Board of Trustees. Read a blog post about the last Office Hours call, which took place Jan. 19.

These conference calls are just one way for Dr. Carmel to stay connected to the AMA members he represents. Take this opportunity to let your voice be heard, and to pose a question to Dr. Carmel. Register today.