Docs are leaving behind federal dollars to pay for coordinated care

"The CMS says doctors tending to tens of millions of chronically ill Medicare patients aren't taking advantage of federal dollars aimed at improving care and reducing hospital readmissions and overall costs.

This year, Medicare began paying an average of $42 per patient per month for non-face-to-face chronic-care management services, such as consulting with other doctors caring for the same patient who might be dealing with dementia, heart disease or arthritis.

The CMS estimates 70% of Medicare beneficiaries—roughly 35 million—would be eligible, but CMS has only received reimbursement requests for 100,000 beneficiaries thus far, Kathy Bryant, a senior technical adviser in the Center for Medicare, said last week at an Advisory Panel on Outreach and Education meeting. She added that even that number may be too high as some could be duplicate claims.

One possible reason for the low interest is that doctors have to get permission from patients who are responsible for a 20% copayment each time their provider bills for the services.

“Getting bills for things when they haven't seen a doctor is not something they are used to,” Bryant said.

Others said the CMS didn't provide enough information on how to properly bill under the codes.

“Physicians are leery about using them because they don't know if they are doing so correctly,” said Regina Mixon Bates, founder and CEO of the Physicians Practice S.O.S. Group, a healthcare consulting and education firm. Another reason could be the lengthy process on electronic health-record systems."

Read more at Modern Healthcare