MSDC MEMBER ALERT

H1N1 Flu Guidance Updates

The DC Department of Health has revised and updated it’s guidelines for District of Columbia Health Care Providers

Update #3

Update #4

Update #5

OSHA issues compliance directive to address flu prevention for health care workers

For the protection of frontline health care and emergency medical workers at high risk of infection, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued a compliance directive to ensure uniform procedures when conducting inspections to identify and minimize or eliminate high to very high risk occupational exposures to the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus.

The directive closely follows the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) guidance.

Click Here to access the .pdf version of the OSHA directive.

2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Revision

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have issued a corrected 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule will be posted to their website, www.cms.hhs.gov/, soon.

NOTE: These files reflect technical corrections to the relative value units, including for CPT codes G0341, 29870, 36481, 37183, 47382, 50200, 55873, 92610, 99221, 99222, 99223, 99304, 99305 and 99306, and to the CY 2010 conversion factor contained in the CY 2010 Medicare physician fee schedule final rule. The conversion factor for CY 2010 is $28.3895 instead of $28.4061 as previously indicated in the final rule. A correction notice will be published in the Federal Register regarding these corrections.

CMS is extending the 2010 Annual Participation Enrollment Program. The participation enrollment period will now end January 31, 2010, instead of December 31, 2009.

Click Here to access the updated Physician Fee Schedule.

2010 CMS Annual Participation Enrollment Program Extension

Due to recent revisions that were made to the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the 2010 Annual Participation Enrollment Program end date from December 31, 2009, to January 31, 2010 – therefore, the enrollment period now runs from November 13, 2009, through January 31, 2010.

 The effective date for any Participation status change during the extension, however, remains January 1, 2010; and will be in force for the entire year.

 Contractors will accept and process any Participation elections or withdrawals, made during the extended enrollment period that are received or post-marked on or before January 31, 2010.

The Participation Agreement (CMS-Form 460) is available on the CD-ROM that is sent out annually by your Medicare contractor during the Annual Participation Enrollment period.  Your contractor will also make the Participation Agreement available to you by placing it on their Websites with Participation enrollment (and termination) instructions.

Click Here to access Highmark's Revalidation Tool.   You will need your Provider Transaction Access Number (PTAN).