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Posts Tagged ‘physician supervision’

“Incident to” Billing Rules Clarified by CMS for 2016

Thursday, September 1st, 2016

Recent Changes to Medicare “Incident To” Billing Rules

incident to billing rules supervision requirementMedicare permits a physician to bill for certain services that are furnished by a nurse practitioner or other auxiliary personnel under what is referred to as the “incident to” billing rules.  The “incident to” rules permit services or supplies furnished as an integral, although incidental, part of the physician’s personal professional services in the course of diagnosis or treatment of an injury or illness to be reimbursed at 100% of the physician fee schedule, even if the service is not directly furnished by the billing physician.

A significant requirement to permit the services of physician extenders to be billed as “incident to” services requires direct personal supervision by the physician. The supervising physician does not necessarily need to be present in the same room where the procedure is being performed.  The “direct supervision” standard requires the supervising physician to be “physically present in the office suite and immediately available to furnish assistance and direction” during the time when the  auxiliary personnel is providing the service.

The 2016 Medicare physician payment rule provided some clarification on how the direct  supervision requirement under the “incident to” billing rules operates.  The new rule clarifies that the physician who directly supervises the applicable auxiliary personnel is the only party that can bill the service of the auxiliary personnel as “incident to” his or her service.  CMS considers this to be a clarification of its longstanding policy, but many providers will see this as a new restriction on the application of the “incident to” rules.

To understand the significance of this “clarification,” it is useful to note that more than one physician is often involved in the care of a patient.  It is not uncommon for one physician to visit the patient and order a test or procedure that is supervised by another physician.  Prior to this “clarification,” the physician that originally ordered the service might have billed the service as “incident to” even though another physician actually supervised the performance of the service.  The revised regulatory language clarified that this is not permitted and that only the physician that is actually present in the office suite and supervises the service can bill for the service as “incident to” their service.  When making a claim for services billed “incident to” a physician’s services, the billing number of the physician that actually supervises the performance of the service must be used rather than that of the ordering physician.

CMS clarifies the reasoning behind this rule as follows: “[B]illing practitioners should have a personal role in, and responsibility for, furnishing services for which they are billing and receiving payment as an incident to their own professional service.”

In view of this regulatory clarification, providers may wish to reexamine their billing process and procedures to clarify the correct billing for “incident to” services.  Staff should also be trained on the proper supervision of services that are billed under the “incident to” rules.

Incident To Billing Rules Changed In New CMS Regulations

Wednesday, November 18th, 2015

New regulations issued by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services on November 16, 2015 change the way that services that are furnished “incident to” the service of a physician must billed. The new regulations provide clarification that the billing provider must be the provider that actually supervises the incident to service.

Previously, regulations stated that the physician supervising the auxiliary personnel need not be the same physician upon whose professional service the “incident to”services base. The provisions in previous regulations that permitted another physician to supervise the incident to service have been removed. Now, the physician who is actually available and actually supervises must be the party whose billing number is connected with the incident to service.

The service that is performed “incident to” the services of a physician can generally be billed at 100% of the physician’s rate under the Medicare fee schedule.  However, supervision and billing standards must be complied with to avoid creating a compliance issue and potential overpayment.

All providers must look at their billing policies and procedures to be certain that they integrate the new “incident to” billing standards into their compliance policies and procedures and appropriately implement the new standard through proper training of their billing staff, physicians and support staff.  This is also a good time to refresh provider training on the extent of supervision that is required in various care settings.

Incident To Billing Rules From CFR § 410.26

Friday, March 9th, 2012

§ 410.26 Services and supplies incident to a physician’s professional services:
Conditions.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) Auxiliary personnel means any individual who is acting under the supervision of a physician (or other practitioner), regardless of whether the individual is an employee, leased employee, or independent contractor of the physician (or other practitioner) or of the same entity that employs or contracts with the physician (or other practitioner).
(2) Direct supervision means the level of supervision by the physician (or other practitioner) of auxiliary personnel as defined in § 410.32(b)(3)(ii).
(3) Independent contractor means an individual (or an entity that has hired such an individual) who performs parttime or full-time work for which the individual (or the entity that has hired such an individual) receives an IRS–1099 form.
(4) Leased employment means an employment relationship that is recognized by applicable State law and that is established by two employers by a contract such that one employer hires the services of an employee of the other employer.
(5) Noninstitutional setting means all settings other than a hospital or skilled nursing facility.
(6) Practitioner means a non-physician practitioner who is authorized by the Act to receive payment for services incident to his or her own services.
(7) Services and supplies means any services or supplies (including drugs or biologicals that are not usually self-administered) that are included in section 1861(s)(2)(A) of the Act and are not specifically listed in the Act as a separate benefit included in the Medicare program.
(b) Medicare Part B pays for services and supplies incident to the service of a physician (or other practitioner).
(1) Services and supplies must be furnished in a noninstitutional setting to noninstitutional patients.
(2) Services and supplies must be an integral, though incidental, part of the service of a physician (or other practitioner) in the course of diagnosis or treatment of an injury or illness.
(3) Services and supplies must be commonly furnished without charge or included in the bill of a physician (or other practitioner).
(4) Services and supplies must be of a type that are commonly furnished in the office or clinic of a physician (or other practitioner).
(5) Services and supplies must be furnished under the direct supervision of the physician (or other practitioner).
The physician (or other practitioner) directly supervising the auxiliary personnel need not be the same physician (or other practitioner) upon whose professional service the incident to service is based.
(6) Services and supplies must be furnished by the physician, practitioner with an incident to benefit, or auxiliary personnel.
(7) A physician (or other practitioner) may be an employee or an independent contractor.
(c) Limitations. (1) Drugs and biologicals are also subject to the limitations specified in § 410.29.
(2) Physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology services provided incident to a physician’s professional services are subject to the provisions established in §§ 410.59(a)(3)(iii),  0.60(a)(3)(iii), and 410.62(a)(3)(ii).

Diagnostic Imaging Medicare Requirements Radiology Tests Supervision

Saturday, August 27th, 2011

Diagnostic Imaging – Medicare Requirements Radiology Test Coverage

We often get questions regarding the conditions of coverage for non-hospital (radiology group) coverage of diagnostic radiology services. Most questions involve the level of supervision that is required under Medicare rules and the requirements that a treating physician order the applicable test. Oftentimes, these questions are tied to issues relative to the Physician Self-Referral (Stark law) exception for diagnostic radiology services that are performed following a consultation request from another health care provider.

 There are three core requirements for a radiology test to be covered under Medicare. The test must be properly ordered by a treating physician (with limited exceptions), the test must be performed by an authorized supplier, and the test must be performed under the proper level of physician supervision. This article will briefly cover all three of the prerequisites to coverage of diagnostic radiology tests. The requirements described in this article apply to outpatient tests. Tests ordered in the hospital context are subject to slightly different rules and beyond the scope of this article.

 Who may order diagnostic radiology tests?

 he Medicare reimbursement rules have strict standards for determining who is authorized to order a diagnostic radiology test. The rules are different depending upon whether the provider is located in a hospital or in a non-hospital setting such as an independent diagnostic testing facility or physician’s office.

 Generally, in a non-hospital setting, a diagnostic radiology test must be ordered by the treating physician. The treating physician rule is located in the Medicare regulations and requires that the diagnostic test be ordered by the physician (or in certain circumstances a non-physician practitioner) who furnishes a consultation or treats a beneficiary for a specific medical problem and who uses the results of the diagnostic radiology test in the management of the patient’s medical problem.

Generally, the radiologist performing the test is not permitted to order a diagnostic radiology test. There are certain exceptions to the treating physician rule which were described in Medicare Transmittal 80. Transmittal 80 describes limited circumstances where a radiologist is permitted to order a diagnostic test and still receive payment for the technical component under Medicare rules.

A radiologist is authorized to order a diagnostic mammography test based upon the results of an initial screening examination. Where the treating physician cannot be reached and this is documented in the patient’s chart , the testing facility may furnish additional diagnostic tests if the interpreting radiologist at the testing facility documents that there are abnormal results with the test originally ordered by the treating physician and that an additional test is medically necessary. In order to rely on this exception, the fact that the treating physician was not available and that additional tests were medically necessary should be well documented in the chart. This exception requires the results of the test to be communicated to the treating physician and used by the treating physician in treating the patient’s medical condition.

Where medically appropriate, the interpreting radiologist is also permitted to make determinations regarding the parameters of the diagnostic test contained in the initial order from the treating physician. In cases where there is a clear and obvious error in the initial order, the interpreting physician may make appropriate modifications. The intervening physician may also cancel orders based upon the patient’s medical condition at the time of the diagnostic tests.

Except for the limited circumstances described above and included in Transmittal 80, the radiologist must always rely upon the order that is made by the treating physician and may not independently order diagnostic radiology tests.

Who Is Qualified To Perform the Radiology Test?

The second major requirement for the coverage radiology services in a non-hospital setting is that only a qualified provider of the services may be reimbursed. Qualified providers include physicians, group practices of physicians, approved portable x-ray suppliers, independent diagnostic test testing facilities, nurse practitioners or clinical nurse specialists as authorized under state law, FDA certified mammography facilities, clinical psychologists for certain types of tests, qualified audiologists, pathology slide preparation facilities, clinical laboratories for certain tests, and radiation therapy centers.

Level of Physician Supervision For Diagnostic Imaging Tests

The last of the major requirements for coverage of radiology services is the level of physician supervision that is required given the specific test being performed. Radiology services must be provided under at least a general level physician supervision. Additionally, certain tests must be provided under direct or personal supervision, which require higher levels of physician presence and involvement. Failure to provide the appropriate level of physician supervision and to document the supervision in the chart will result in loss of coverage under Medicare and Medicaid. Any claims submitted in spite of not meeting the supervision requirements will be considered to be not reasonable or necessary by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid.

There are a few exceptions from the physician supervision requirements for certain limited types of tests. It must be kept in mind however that these exceptions are Medicare only exceptions and there may be other federal or state laws that apply to require physician supervision. Tests that are excepted from physician supervision requirements include diagnostic mammography procedures, diagnostic tests performed by a qualified audiologist and certain psychological tests.

You must determine whether general, direct or personal supervision is required in order to bill the applicable diagnostic radiology procedure. Failure to meet the appropriate supervision requirement will lead to loss of reimbursement. This can also be an area of potential civil money penalty exposure if billings are made in spite of there not having been appropriate supervision. Thus, the supervision requirement is a significant compliance issue for medical practices who must establish and maintain appropriate policies and procedures regarding supervision of various levels of radiology diagnostic tests.

Each level of supervision has very specific requirements that must be met. For this reason it is important to know which level of supervision is required for the specific test being performed. General supervision requires that the procedure be furnished under the physicians overall direction in control. Physician presence is not necessarily required during the performance of procedures that require general supervision. Under general supervision the physician is responsible for general supervision and training of support personnel who are actually performing the test services. The physician is also responsible for maintaining the necessary equipment and supplies for the safe operation of the diagnostic test.

Direct and personal supervision each require higher levels of physician involvement and generally require some level of physician presence throughout the performance of the test. Direct supervision in the office setting requires that the physician be present in the office suite and immediately available to furnish assistance. Physical presence in the office suite must be maintained throughout the entire performance of the procedure. The physician is not required to be physically present in the room where the procedure is performed unless there is a need for the physician’s presence due to some problem that arises during the course of performing the test.

The highest level of physician supervision is personal supervision. Personal supervision requires a physician to actually be present in the room during the performance of the procedure. Personal supervision generally involves diagnostic tests with invasive or otherwise dangerous aspects. One significant example of a test that requires personal supervision is contrast studies.

It is important to know what level of supervision is required for the test that is being performed. The level of supervision that is required for each test is included in the Physician Relative Value Fee Schedule. The CMS web site includes a spreadsheet that designates the level of supervision that is required for a variety of services including diagnostic imaging services. The spreadsheet includes a column for “physician supervision.” The column indicates a numerical value with “1” indicating general supervision, “2” indicating direct supervision and “3” indicating personal supervision.

Physician practices and compliance officers should be certain that their policies are in line with CMS requirements for coverage of diagnostic radiology tests. Radiology groups must be certain that the tests they are charged with performing meet each of the requirements stated above. Radiology groups need to be certain that the test is ordered by the treating physician unless inapplicable exception is present, and that the appropriate level of physician supervision is met for the type of test that is being performed.Health care attorneys health law

For more information regarding the requirements for radiology services and other legal issues that affect radiology practices and providers, please contact John Fisher, member of Ruder Ware’s Health Care Focus Team.

John Fisher is an experienced health care attorney who has practiced extensively in the health care industry providing counsel to a wide variety of health care providers. John has counseled health care clients, including hospitals, physicians, and health systems on health care regulatory compliance, contracts, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, recruitment and compensation issues, integrated network development, and Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. John is knowledgeable on the laws and regulations that affect financial relationships between health care providers including the Stark Law, Anti-kickback Statute and safe harbor regulations, fraud and abuse, antitrust and exempt organization tax issues.

John H. Fisher

Health Care Counsel
Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C.
500 First Street, Suite 8000
P.O. Box 8050
Wausau, WI 54402-8050

Tel 715.845.4336
Fax 715.845.2718

Ruder Ware is a member of Meritas Law Firms Worldwide

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