National Regulation/Quality and Qualifications
NAAOP, both individually and in partnership with other O&P organizations, has consistently sought to separate legislative and regulatory treatment of professional O&P care from the provision of durable medical equipment. These efforts have been largely successful through the years, witnessed by more favorable treatment for O&P in the area of Medicare fee schedule freezes and competitive bidding. These victories have been accomplished through years of persistence. In fact, there are now laws on the books that were written to protect Medicare beneficiaries from receiving substandard care from individuals who are not qualified to provide professional O&P care to Medicare beneficiaries. This battle was won because NAAOP and its allies in the O&P field finally convinced legislators that the provision of O&P care is complex, clinical, and critical for Medicare patients with orthopedic conditions and disabilities.
CMS regulators are now interpreting these laws as they relate to the establishment of quality standards and accreditation requirements. This matter deserves your attention because you and your patients will suffer if non-qualified suppliers are permitted to provide care to patients, and bill the Medicare program for it. It is again necessary to use the arguments that convinced legislators to press the case with regulators interpreting the statutes. To do this, the O&P profession must put a human face on the issue of quality standards and the adverse consequences of O&P patients receiving care from individuals not qualified to provide professional care
You may have the evidence needed to advocate for your patients and your profession. You can help! Please provide NAAOP with specific examples of the effect of non-qualified individuals providing O&P care. When providing these examples, please provide as much evidence as possible, giving facts, including timeframes, disclosing only what you know, and do not include information that would identify a particular patient. If you have questions, please call NAAOP at 800-622-6740 or e-mail us at info@naaop.org. We want to hear from you.
O&P is a relatively small profession and in order to compete in the larger healthcare arena we must continue to present a factual and compelling account of the threats facing O&P patients and professional O&P care.
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Coverage and Reimbursement
DRA 9-Day Payment Hold This message is for all providers and physicians who bill Medicare contractors for their services.
A brief hold will be placed on Medicare payments for all claims during the last 9 days of the Federal fiscal year (Sept 22 through Sept 30, 2006). These payment delays are mandated by section 5203 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2006. No interest will be accrued and no late penalties will be paid to an entity or individual by reason of this one-time hold on payments. All claims held during this time will be paid on October 2, 2006.
Please note, however, that contractors handling large volumes of paper checks may have some difficulty putting all checks in the mail in a single day. Consequently, delivery of checks to providers may take a few extra days.
This policy only applies to claims subject to payment. It does not apply to full denials, no-pay claims and other non-claim payments such as periodic interim payments, home heath request for anticipated payments and cost report settlements.
Please note that payments will not be staggered and no advance payments will be allowed during this 9-day hold. Please refer to: MLN Matters article #MM5047; Change Request #5047; Transmittal# R944CP or refer your questions to your FI/RHHI or Carrier
Thank you for your support.
Respectfully,
Mark DeHarde PresidentGeorge W. Breece Executive DirectorPeter W. Thomas General Counsel