Join us for an open house to gain more information about the changes that are coming to health care this summer. We will discuss the next phase of the Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC 2.0), Colorado’s innovative approach to improving the experience and outcomes of both physical and behavioral health care services for people who are part of Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program). Learn how these changes will affect you and your patients.
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Morning and afternoon sessions are available. Please select which date and session you plan to attend when you register. Information provided will be the same at all sessions.
Familiarize yourself with the two designated tracks of MACRA — MIPS or APM, understand the potential financial upside and downside of MIPS participation & identify next steps within your practice to comply with these regulations with this helpful Webinar provided by Welter Healthcare Partners!nn nn
On June 11, the CDC posted the Release of the 2019 ICD-10-CM codes for download in both XML and PDF formats. The 2019 update includes a total of 473 code changes, including additions, deletions, and revisions to the code set. nnMany of the new codes added to the code set are external cause codes to describe exploitation of children and adults in the form of psychological abuse, bullying and intimidation, forced sexual exploitation, or forced labor exploitation. These code changes are effective October 1, 2018 and will be used through September 30, 2019.nnThe codes were requested by several hospitals, which are seeing an increase in human trafficking cases and finding they don’t have ICD-10-CM codes adequate to differentiate these victims from other abuse victims. CDC is adding new T codes to report for cases of suspected and confirmed exploitation of children as well as adults. In addition, there are new encounter Z codes added to Chapter 21 for examination and observation of human trafficking victims.nnAs originally proposed, a go-to code for an infected surgical wound, T81.4xxA, is among the 51 codes that are set to be deleted. In its place, coders will have 15 additional codes added to an expanded T81.4- subcategory that will allow them to more accurately report the depth of the infection.n
The month-long window is the shortest turnaround from a state and doesn’t exempt the healthcare sector, effectively giving Colorado providers just half the time required by HIPAA to report. Check out the article for more information! nnColorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law expansive consumer data legislation that mandates all organizations report breaches within 30 days, making it the shortest turnaround for any state.nnThere are no exemptions from the notification rule, meaning healthcare organizations must report within 30 days — half the time required by HIPAA. The legislation updates the state’s current notification language that states notification must happen without “reasonable delay.”nnIntroduced in January, the bill unanimously passed in the State House Committee. The aim is to drastically improve privacy and security for all organizations within the state.nnThe legislation overlaps with HIPAA requirements, as lawmakers added medical and health insurance identification data to the types of information covered by the law.nnAnd if there’s “a conflict between the time period for notice to individuals [under Colorado law or federal regulation or law], the law or regulation with the shortest time frame for notice to the individual controls,” the bill states.n
For the most part, providers support the Direct Provider Contracting proposal put forward by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, with some stipulations and considerable tweaking. Check out the article, below, for more information! nnKey stakeholders are mostly supportive of a Medicare Direct Provider Contracting proposal but urging the federal government to keep it simple and not overwhelm providers with paperwork.nn“Burden reduction must be a priority for the Innovation Center when implementing the DPC model,” the Medical Group Management Association said in a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.nn“Collecting and reporting quality metrics remain technically challenging, data intensive, and administratively burdensome,” MGMA said. “Bureaucratic barriers to care, including prior authorization and appropriate use criteria, are at odds with care delivery and financial models in which participants are accountable for care outcomes.”nnThat concern was echoed byThe American Geriatrics Society, which urged that “CMS take care not to add further administrative burdens that may negatively impact patient care.”nnThe National Association of Accountable Care Organization supports the DPC concept, but urged CMS to limit participation to primary care providers for the rollout.nn“Primary care is more appropriate for this type of model, and specialty DPC Models would be too similar to bundled payment programs,” NAACOS said. “Further, it would be much more complicated to structure per beneficiary per month payments for specialty care which is typically more complex and can include episodes of care with greater variation in clinical conditions, treatment protocols and related costs.”n
Join us for an open house to gain more information about the changes that are coming to health care this summer. We will discuss the next phase of the Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC 2.0), Colorado’s innovative approach to improving the experience and outcomes of both physical and behavioral health care services for people who are part of Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program). Learn how these changes will affect you and your patients.
On June 11, the CDC posted the 
The month-long window is the shortest turnaround from a state and doesn’t exempt the healthcare sector, effectively giving Colorado providers just half the time required by HIPAA to report. Check out the article for more information! nnColorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law expansive consumer data legislation that mandates all organizations report breaches within 30 days, making it the shortest turnaround for any state.nnThere are no exemptions from the notification rule, meaning healthcare organizations must report within 30 days — half the time required by HIPAA. The legislation updates the state’s current notification language that states notification must happen without “reasonable delay.”nnIntroduced in January, the bill unanimously passed in the State House Committee. The aim is to drastically improve privacy and security for all organizations within the state.nnThe legislation overlaps with HIPAA requirements, as lawmakers added medical and health insurance identification data to the types of information covered by the law.nnAnd if there’s “a conflict between the time period for notice to individuals [under Colorado law or federal regulation or law], the law or regulation with the shortest time frame for notice to the individual controls,” the bill states.n
For the most part, providers support the Direct Provider Contracting proposal put forward by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, with some stipulations and considerable tweaking. Check out the article, below, for more information!