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12/04/23

UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Cognitive Rehabilitation

UnitedHealthcare (UHC) Community Plan has revised their Cognitive Rehabilitation Medical Policy. To access this revised policy, click

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11/20/23

CMS Adds Additional Services That Audiologists Can Bill Without a Physician Referral

On November 28, 2022, I published an article titled “CMS to Allow Audiologists to Furnish Certain Services without a Physician Order“. In this article, I provided you with the information that allowed audiologists to provide 36 tests and bill those tests to the Medicare program without requiring a physician order beginning on January 1, 2023. Effective January 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is adding 2 additional CPT codes to the current list. These codes and their descriptors are:

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11/20/23

CMS Revises 855I Application Form

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has revised the 855I Form for Medicare enrollment. In this article, I will answer the following questions:

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11/03/23

CMS Releases CY 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule

On November 2, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the calendar year (CY) 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule. This final rule does have regulatory and reimbursement implications for outpatient physical, occupational, and speech therapy provided in all outpatient therapy settings in calendar year 2024. In this article, I will inform you of what CMS finalized on the following topics:

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11/01/23

CMS Finalizes Lymphedema Coverage Guidelines and Payments

Due to passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will begin to reimburse for lymphedema standard and custom fitted gradient compression garments and other items as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) beginning January 1, 2024. On November 1, 2023, CMS released the calendar year (CY) 2024 Home Health Prospective Payment System final rule. In this final rule, CMS finalized the following regarding lymphedema compression treatment items:

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10/30/23

Aetna Updates Implementation of Assistant Payment Reduction

Aetna has revised the effective date of their implementation to reduce payment when outpatient therapy services are provided in whole or in part by a physical therapist assistant or an occupational therapy assistant. Click HERE to read the updated article with the new effective date.

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10/23/23

Speech Therapy Billing Scenarios: Part 2

In this article, I will provide the answers to the following speech therapy billing scenarios:

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10/23/23

Amount in Controversy for Appeals in 2024

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced the dollar amount that must remain in controversy in 2024 in order to appeal to the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) or the Federal District Court. In this article, I will answer the following questions:

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