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2019 covid has brought new telehealth rules in 2020

By Dialysis Billing, Medical Billing, Nephrology Billing, Nephrology Billing, Podiatry, Renal

This article was published in the July  issue of Nephrology Times and written by our own Sarah Tolson, Director of Operations.

Physician offices and dialysis facilities alike have been scrambling to provide their patients with the best possible care, minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for both patients and caregivers, and comply with ever-changing state and federal safety guidelines during this public health emergency. Insurance companies have also made changes to facilitate contact-free access to healthcare for their members. Medicare released a list of 239 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes that are payable under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule when they are furnished via telehealth. Most insurance companies have followed Medicare’s lead and expanded their list of covered telehealth services to allow patients more flexibility in accessing healthcare. Now, more than any time in our history, people are receiving healthcare via telehealth.

Along with all the changes in covered services, there have been changes in the billing requirements for telehealth services. Now, it is critical to stay up to date on billing regulations and requirements. Not only has the number of patient visits dwindled in many practices, but staff being unfamiliar with current telehealth billing requirements can result in a loss of revenue. There are three steps that can be followed by billing staff to ensure maximum reimbursement is obtained for telehealth services during this time of change.

Continue reading https://www.docwirenews.com/nephtimes/a-year-of-change/

 

Sceptre Service – Sceptre Does Small Things with Great Love

By Sceptre news

Hope Lodge is a place where cancer patients and caregivers can stay while undergoing treatment.   It was a humbling experience to serve those who are going through such tough challenges at this time.   The residence were so grateful that we brought them lunch.  Small things done with great love bless many.

Even something as small as making a meal and serving it blesses both the giver and the receiver.  Service connects and unifies people.  Notice the white board says, “Cooking up hope in honor of Lisa”.  We lost our friend and coworker, Lisa Carter, to Pulmonary Hypertension this year and last year she nominated Hope Lodge as a service project.  So this year we all voted to honor Lisa’s request.  The residence were asking who Lisa was and it was neat to share her light with them.   She was such a kind person.  Even Lisa’s smile was a small thing that gave so much light to everyone around her.   Serving at Hope Lodge was a great experience for both our awesome team and the residents.   Service creates unity with those you serve with and the people you serve.  We will definitely be back.

 

Three Tips to Improve Accounts Receivable

By Dialysis Billing, Medical Billing, Nephrology Billing, Renal

Three Tips to Improve Accounts Receivable

Published in Nephrology Times, May/June 2019

By Sarah Tolson, Sceptre Management Solutions

In our company, we deal with insurance companies across the nation. Working with a variety of payers gives us a wide range of experience but we also
encounter our fair share of challenges in obtaining reimbursement. Here are three simple tips that make collecting from payers a little easier….Read More

 

Sceptre Mourns the Loss of a Wonderful Team Member and Friend

By Sceptre news

Lisa Carter

Account Coordinator

Sceptre Mourns the Loss of a strong team member and friend. Lisa was a bright ray of sunshine for everyone at Sceptre. Lisa made everyone feel like she was their best friend. She did this by caring, listening and loving. Lisa worked as a medical biller and account coordinator for 3+ years at Sceptre. Lisa's contributions and friendship will be missed. We wish Lisa's family the best as they mourn the loss of their wonderful mother, wife, daughter and friend. We hope the memory of the good times spent together sustains them during this challenging time.

Our beloved “Lady and Grandma Lady” passed away on July 6, 2019. Lisa was born to Duane and Judy Poll on March 28, 1963 in Ogden, Utah.

She graduated from Clearfield High School where she met her husband, Mark Carter. They were married November 5, 1981 in South Weber, Utah. After attending Utah State University, the couple returned to South Weber, Utah to raise their children and be close to family.

Lisa raised five children and seven grandchildren and was always surrounded by her family and friends. Family was the most important thing in Lisa’s life and she would never pass up the opportunity to go on an adventure or vacation with the people she loved. Family vacations to Mexico and weekend getaways to Jackson Hole were the trips she loved the most.

Lisa loved to barrel race and was a fierce competitor on her horse “Skinner”. She was the WPRA Wilderness Circuit rookie of the year in 1988 and was the 1989 WPRA Wilderness Circuit Barrel Racing Champion. She won many saddles, buckles, and horse trailers throughout her professional career. She passed her love of horses and barrel racing onto her daughters.

Lisa is survived by her husband, Mark and five children and their spouses; Josh (Stacey) Carter, Alexx (Allen) Keetch, Karson (Brian) Hall, Jayde (Sever) Talbot, and Madison (Tyler) Thornock; seven grandchildren; Sadie, Ryder, and Axel Carter, Sylvie, Karter, and Will Keetch, and Hayden Hall. She is also survived by her mother Judy and brothers; Chris, Jason, and Jared Poll.

She was preceded in death by her father Duane, her brother Darren, and her aunt Donna Poll.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, July 11, 2019 at 11 a.m. at the South Weber 1st Ward Chapel, 1401 E. South Weber Drive, South Weber. Friends may visit family Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 No. Fairfield Road and Thusday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the church. Interment, Uintah Township Cemetery.

Sceptre Fights for a Friend with Cancer

By Sceptre news

Sceptre fights for a friend with Cancer.   At Sceptre we not only fight for our clients right to reimbursement, we also fight for cancer awareness and friends.   We have a long time business partner and friend who is fighting for her life.  Our friend was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Cancer is one of those diagnoses that helps us remember what matters most.   It is our relationships with people that matter most.   We have been blessed at Sceptre to work with so many great people for over 20 years now.   We sent our friend and her family a gift with some bracelets and let her know she is not fighting alone.

Everyone at Sceptre sends their love and support and hope our friend recovers quickly and her health returns soon.

Increasing pressure on patients to pay for out-of-pocket costs, Part 2

By Dialysis Billing, Medical Billing, Nephrology Billing, Nephrology Billing, Renal

From the Field: Patient Payments Part 2

Published in Nephrology Times, Jan/Feb 2019

By Rick Collins, Sceptre Management Solutions, Inc.

Last issue I mentioned that a social worker commented to me that she wishes providers would stop trying to collect from patients. She said providers “make enough money” and wondered why they feel the need to collect from patients who cannot afford their large coinsurances and deductibles. She pointed out that increasing pressure on patients to pay for coinsurances and … Read More »

Increasing pressure on patients to pay out of pocket, Part 1

By Dialysis Billing, Medical Billing, Nephrology Billing, Nephrology Billing, Renal

Growing Pressure on Renal Patients to Pay Out-of-Pocket

Pubilshed in Nephrology Times, Nov/Dec 2018

By Rick Collins, Sceptre Management Solutions, Inc.

At a conference I attended recently, a social worker lamented how much grief is placed on dialysis patients due to the large bills they receive from renal providers. She openly wondered why providers feel they need to bill patients since they already are paid “a lot” by Medicare and commercial insurance companies. When I first entered the … Read More »

Cheap Billing Can Be Costly

By Dialysis Billing, Medical Billing, Nephrology Billing, Nephrology Billing

From the Field: Cheap Billing Can Be Costly

Published in the Oct 2017 issue of Nephrology Times

By Rick Collins, Chief Operating Officer, Sceptre Management Solutuions

“We can do your billing for much lower fees than you’re paying now!” While this is a tantalizing phrase for physicians, management, ownership, and accountants, paying for “cheap” billing frequently costs you much more than any savings you realize from the cheaper billing rate. To illustrate this point, following are personal experiences from our company’s 20 years in … Read More »

When Medicare and Medicaid Regulations Clash, You Lose

By Dialysis Billing, Medical Billing, Nephrology Billing, Nephrology Billing

January/February 2017, Published in Nephrology Times, From the Field: Competing Medicare and Medicaid Regs: You Lose

By Sarah Tolson, Director of Training, Sceptre Management Solutions, Inc.

Providers are in a no-win situation when Medicare and Medicaid regulations conflict with one another. A perfect example of this is reflected in the sample question below we received from several billers: Question: Medicaid requires us to report the NDC (National Drug Code) for each vial size we use in dosing a patient. For example, if our physician … Read More »

New Bill Cuts Delays in Survey Certifications and Expands Telehealth Options

By Dialysis Billing, Nephrology Billing, Nephrology Billing

September 2017: Nephrology Times,  From the Field: New Bill Cuts Facility Certification Delays and Expands Telehealth Options

Rick Collins, Chief Operating Officer, Sceptre Management Solutions

Ridiculously lengthy delays in getting new dialysis facilities certified might finally be going away. H.R. 3178, sponsored by ten members of the House of Representatives, would allow new facilities to be certified by government-approved agencies other than Medicare. In this age of few agreements between political parties, this bill appears to have great appeal to both parties as … Read More »