News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel

News, Analysis, Trends, Management Innovations for
Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Hosted by Robert Michel
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Forbes Tells the World How Medicare Bollixed Molecular Diagnostic Test Payments, Leaving Nation’s Clinical Laboratories Unpaid for Months

Columnist Steve Gottlieb, M.D., wrote that “This sort of bungling may be without precedent, even for the Medicare agency”

Since the beginning of the year, most Medicare contractors and private health insurers have not paid clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology practices for molecular diagnostic test claims coded to the 114 new molecular test CPT codes.

This unprecedented situation of labs going unpaid for more than three months has created financial turmoil and uncertainty across the medical laboratory profession. In fact, the question must be asked: Did Forbes columnist Scott Gottlieb, M.D., wake up the nation’s Medicare contractors with his column published on March 27? (more…)

Coding Consultant Uses Crowdsourcing for Clinical Pathology Laboratories to Post Amounts Paid by Medicare Contractors for Molecular Test Claims

Medical laboratories have yet to learn how much to expect in payment for molecular pathology test claims submitted to the Medicare program

Concern is rising among pathologists and clinical laboratory directors about what the Medicare program will pay this year for the 104 new molecular test CPT codes. These new CPT codes became effective on January 1, 2013.

Few–if any–medical laboratories have received payments for Medicare claims submitted early in January. That’s because contractors for the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are just beginning to process those invoices. The first payments for these molecular test claims are expected within the next several weeks.

Help for Clinical Laboratories and Pathology Groups

To help clinical labs and pathology groups address this problem, CodeMap, LLC, a billing and coding consulting company in Schaumburg, IL, is encouraging clinical labs to post the payment amounts for the molecular test claims they get from the nation’s Medicare Administrative Contractors on the CodeMap website at www.codemap.com. CodeMap then will make this information available to participating medical laboratories and the public.

crowdsourcing graphic

To fill the knowledge vacuum that exists as different Medicare Administrative Contractors use the gap-fill method to develop reimbursement for the 104 new molecular test CPT codes, CodeMap, LLC, of Schaumburg, IL, is using the crowdsourcing solution. Also known as distributed problem solving, CodeMap is inviting clinical laboratories and pathology groups to voluntarily provide data about their payments for Medicare claims involving the new molecular test codes. (Graphic by HBS.edu.)

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