In this issue
New
behavioral health center opens in Thief River Falls
Sanford Health has opened a new behavioral health center in
Thief River Falls. Located at the Sanford Health Thief River Falls Downtown
Campus, the new Sanford Behavioral Health Center features inpatient, outpatient
and community-based services.
The first floor serves as the outpatient behavioral health space including
group therapy rooms, quiet testing space, children’s activity therapy rooms and
children’s waiting area. The second floor features the inpatient behavioral
health unit, complete with individual and group therapy spaces and patient
rooms.
“Keeping patient care close to home is a priority for Sanford, and we are
pleased this expansion will allow us more space to care for our patients,” said
Brian Carlson, CEO of Sanford Health Thief River Falls. return to top
CMS
ready for ICD-10 on Oct. 1, officials say
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will
continue to pay claims and implement ICD-10 if the Congress fails to act by
Thursday, Oct. 1, on legislation to fund the government into fiscal year 2016,
according to CMS Principal Deputy Administrator Patrick Conway. Health care
claims must include ICD-10 codes for medical diagnoses and inpatient hospital
procedures beginning Oct. 1. Payments to providers for ICD-10 will continue
even if the federal government is shut down during ongoing budget negotiations.
“We recognize that [ICD-10] is a significant transition and we have set up
processes and operations to monitor the transition in real time, assess our
system and investigate and address issues as they come in through the ICD-10
Coordination Center,” Conway said. “Providers experiencing issues related to
the submission of their claims should first contact their billing vendor and/or
clearinghouse. After that they can contact their Medicare administrative
contractor. If the providers need additional assistance they can contact the
ICD-10 ombudsman at CMS.”
It could take two weeks to 30 days for the agency to have a full picture of how
the transition went because it can take that long to process Medicare and
Medicaid claims, respectively, Conway said. For more on the transition, see the
CMS Blog post by ICD-10 Ombudsman Bill Rogers, M.D., or visit www.aha.org. With questions, contact Joe Schindler, vice president of finance, MHA, 651-659-1415. return to top
MDH
rural hospital grants available
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Office of Rural Health
and Primary Care (ORHPC) announced two upcoming rural hospital grant
application deadlines.
The Rural Hospital Planning and Transition grant is intended to help small
rural hospitals preserve access or respond to changing conditions. Hospitals
have used transition grants to prepare strategic plans, implement new uses for
hospital space and develop community services. Approximately $300,000 is
available each year and the maximum grant amount is $50,000. Applications are
due Friday, Oct. 16. For more information, visit the ORHPC website.
The Rural Hospital Capital Improvement grant helps small rural hospitals make
needed facility and equipment improvements. Pre-applications are due Friday,
Nov. 13. For more information, visit the ORHPC website.
With questions about either grant, contact Will Wilson, ORHPC,
651-201-3842. return to top
New
changes for Two-Midnight Short-Stay reviews
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) announced changes to its approach with regard to educating providers and
enforcing the Two-Midnight Rule. CMS has decided to use beneficiary and
family-centered care quality improvement organizations (BFCC-QIOs), rather than
Medicare administrative contractors or recovery auditors, to conduct the
first-line medical reviews of providers who submit claims for inpatient
admissions. BFCC-QIOs have a significant history of collaborating with
hospitals and other stakeholders to ensure high-quality care for beneficiaries.
The BFCC-QIO’s Two-Midnight Short-Stay reviews will focus on educating doctors
and hospitals about the Part A payment policy for inpatient admissions.
Recovery auditor patient status reviews will be conducted by the recovery
auditors for those hospitals that have consistently high denial rates based on
BFCC-QIO patient status review outcomes.
KEPRO is the BFCC-QIO for more than 30 states, including Minnesota. KEPRO will
host a webinar reviewing the upcoming changes on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 2-3
p.m. To register for the webinar, visit the QualityNet website and look for Two-Midnight
Short-Stay Reviews.
KEPRO will post updates on its website regarding the effective date of these
changes as provided by CMS, along with additional information and education
materials. return to top