RA Messages for April 27, 2010


PHARMACY PROVIDERS, PLEASE NOTE!!!

If you are unsure about the coverage of a drug product, please contact the PBM help desk at 1-800-648-0790.

Please file adjustments for claims that may have been incorrectly paid. Only those products of the manufacturers which participate in the Federal Rebate Program will be covered by the Medicaid program. Participation may be verified in Appendix C, available at www.lamedicaid.com


ATTENTION: CERTIFIED NURSE MIDWIVES AND OB PROVIDERS
BILLING INFORMATION UPDATE: FIRST ASSISTANT AT SURGERY

Effective with date of service May 1, 2010, Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM) who perform as the 'first assistant surgery' are to use the "AS" modifier to identify these services. This billing update for Certified Nurse Midwives is to provide consistency in billing for non-physician providers who perform as the first assistant in surgery. There is no change in reimbursement methodology for CNM's. Questions concerning this update may be directed to Unisys Provider Relations at (800) 473-2783 or (225) 924-5040.


ATTENTION: IMMUNIZATION PAY-FOR-PERFORMANCE ENROLLED PROVIDERS

The Department of Health and Hospitals has determined that to avoid a budget deficit, a change in the Immunization Pay-For-Performance Initiative (P4P) is necessary. Effective with P4P payments for April 2010 and thereafter, the initial benchmark measurement to receive a payment will be that 60% to 74% of the recipients linked to the participating CommunityCARE PCP must be up to date by age 24 months to be eligible to receive an incentive payment. No changes are being made to the second or third level benchmark or payments. Detailed information on the P4P incentive payment initiative can be found on the www.lamedicaid.com website, following the link for Pay-For-Performance. For details regarding the Emergency Rule associated with this change, please go to the Emergency Rule section of the Louisiana Register at the Office of the State Register's website (http://doa.louisiana.gov/osr/). Contact Unisys Provider Relations at (800) 473-2783 or (225) 924-5040 with any questions.


ATTENTION OUTPATIENT HOSPITALS AND FREE-STANDING ESRD FACILITIES
H1N1 INFLUENZA ADMINISTRATION

Effective with date of service October 1, 2009, Revenue Code 771 (Vaccine Administration) is payable to outpatient hospitals and free-standing ESRD facilities, but only if billed with CPT code 90470 (H1N1 Immunization Administration). As the H1N1 vaccine is being supplied at no charge by the Office of Public Health (OPH) and to only those providers that previously registered with OPH, Medicaid will reimburse providers only for the administration of the vaccine. Detailed policy and a fee schedule specific to the H1N1 influenza vaccine administered by outpatient hospital and ESRD providers has been added to the 'H1N1 Influenza Information' link on the homepage of www.lamedicaid.com. Claims previously denied due to delay in implementation will be systematically adjusted and no action is required by providers. Providers should contact the Provider Relations unit at (800) 473-2783 or (225) 924-5040 with billing or policy questions. Questions related to the H1N1 vaccine including availability should be directed to the OPH Immunization Program at (504) 838-5300.


IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL MEDICAID HOSPICE PROVIDERS

The Department of Health and Hospitals will partner with Automated Health Systems (AHS) to administer the Medicaid Hospice Program. Effective May 1, 2010, Hospice providers are to appropriately submit all hospice related forms and prior authorization requests to:


Automated Health Systems
10101 Siegen Lane
Baton Rouge, LA 70810
Attention: Hospice Manager

Fax: (225) 757-4360


ATTENTION PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PROVIDERS: CLAIMCHECK WEBINARS

The implementation of McKesson ClaimCheck editing for professional services is anticipated to become effective with the processing date May 17, 2010. Educational webinars concerning this implementation will be held April 27-29, 2010. Providers should visit the LA Medicaid website, www.lamedicaid.com, and click on the blue 'ClaimCheck' button for further information and to register for one of the webinars. Affected providers are strongly encouraged to attend.

Questions concerning this notice may be directed to Unisys Provider Relations at (800) 473-2783 or (225) 924-5040.


ATTENTION MENTAL HEALTH CLINIC (MHC) PROVIDERS

A new Medicaid Provider Manual for Mental Health Clinics is currently available at www.lamedicaid.com.


ATTENTION DENTAL PROVIDERS

Medicaid recently identified a problem that caused duplicate payments of dental procedure codes when submitted more than once by the provider. This problem affected only those dental claims which were processed from February 22, 2010, through April 19, 2010. Program changes have been implemented to correct this problem and all duplicate claims that were processed within the time period mentioned will be automatically recycled by Medicaid and appear on a future remittance advice. Please keep in mind that all claims recycled will consist of recouped payments of these duplicate claims. Should you have any questions, you may contact Provider Relations at (225) 924-5040.


RHC/FQHC PROVIDERS
"Adjunct Services"

Effective with DOS 10-21-07, Louisiana Medicaid reimburses for select adjunct services (currently CPT codes 99050-99051). RHC/FQHC providers were notified through remittance advices published in July 2008 to begin submitting claims to preserve timely filing, but to initially expect denials until programming was finalized.

Programming is now complete and providers will no longer receive denials due to the adjunct services not being payable to RHC/FQHCs. Updated billing instructions can be found on the homepage of www.lamedicaid.com. Claims with proof of timely filing that previously denied due to the adjunct services not being reimbursable to RHC/FQHCs will be systematically adjusted and no action is required by providers. Providers should continue to monitor future RAs.


ATTENTION PROVIDERS BILLING TPL CLAIMS

It has come to our attention that many claims for dates of service January 1, 2010 forward, involving TPL insurance payments, have paid the full Medicaid allowable amount in error. The logic allowing these claims to incorrectly overpay has been corrected, and affected claims will be systematically adjusted to recoup the overpayments previously made. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If you had any of these claims that were processed incorrectly we will recycle the claims during the month of May.


ATTENTION PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ANESTHESIA PROVIDERS
Implementation of Reimbursement Changes to Formula Based
Anesthesia Services

Effective with dates of service on and after January 22, 2010, the reimbursement for formula based anesthesia services performed by physicians and CRNAs is 75% of the 2009 Louisiana Medicare Region 99 allowable for services rendered to Medicaid recipients ages 16 and older, and 90% of the 2009 Louisiana Medicare Region 99 allowable for services rendered to Medicaid recipients under the age of 16. For further details, refer to the Office of the State Register's website (http://doa.louisiana.gov/osr/) for the emergency rule published on January 22, 2010. Providers began seeing these reimbursement changes on the RA of February 2, 2010, and are responsible for adherence to the policy entitled, "Reimbursement for Formula Based Anesthesia Services," located on the homepage of www.lamedicaid.com. The reimbursement change was implemented in a timely fashion and a systematic adjustment of claims was not necessary.