Recent News and Announcements | PCC Ambulance Billing Service

PCC is a leading Ambulance and Fire Billing Service dedicated to maximizing your revenue while meeting all federal and state guidelines. We specialize in billing so you can specialize in patient care.

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HITECH ACT

On February 17, 2009,a bill was enacted called The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or better known as the “Stimulus Bill” which includes the Title XII, Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). The HITECH Act contains significant changes to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules as well as numerous other changes that will have a major impact in the information and technology areas of health care.

Included in the HITECH Act are several new requirements that have been amended to HIPAA:

Requires notification in the event of a breach of unsecured PHI
Restricts the sale and marketing of PHI
Strengthens enforcement mechanisms
Applies portions of HIPAA’s Privacy and Security rules directly to Business Associates.

HHS Office of Civil Rights is now responsible for enforcement of HIPAA-HITECH to ensure that ambulance services and health care providers are in compliance with the regulations. Penalties for violations of the regulations have risen substantially with HITECH. Civil penalties apply to any privacy or security violation, even unintentional ones. Criminal penalties will apply directly to the employee as well as the ambulance service. Some states may also now be able to prosecute too. The new tiered-penalty structure is now based on the level of knowledge:

Without knowledge, $100 per violation up to $25,000 per year for violations of the same requirement
Due to reasonable cause & not willful neglect, $1,000 per violation up to $100,000 per year for violations of the same requirement
Due to willful neglect, $10,000 per violation up to $250,000 per year for violations of the same requirement
Due to willful neglect and not corrected within 30 days, $50,000 per violation up to $1.5 million dollars per year for violations of the same requirement.

There are many more provisions within the HITECH Act that we will expand on in the future but as the health information technology improves and more regulations in the horizon, it is important that such information remains private and secure. It is vital that your ambulance service stay updated on the current and updated regulations in order to stay compliant in the health care industry.

RAC ~ Recovery Audit Contractor

The RAC program has been implemented for all regions. The RAC program is intended:

"...to reduce Medicare improper payments through the efficient detection and collection of overpayments, the identification of underpayments and the implementation of actions that will prevent future improper payments."

The regional RAC for region D is HealthDataInsights. They are contracted to implement audits on payments already made by CMS Medicare to ensure proper payment has been made. If they audit a claim and feel it is an overpayment then they will send out a Demand Letter stating that they have reviewed a certain claim and have determined it to be an overpayment and requests that money be refunded. This is an excerpt from an example letter:

“This letter is to notify you that Medicare has made an overpayment to you for the amount of $_______.

A brief description of the claims associated with this overpayment can be found on the "Overpayment Report" page. In order to correct this overpayment, please refund $_______by xx/xx/xxxx.”

What does that mean to you? If you receive one of these letters and PCC handles your billing, please forward to us as soon as possible. The review process gives 40 days from the date on the letter for us to provide supporting documentation showing why the payment should not be considered as an overpayment. If the supporting documentation is not sent in a timely manner, the amount shown on the letter will be forwarded to Medicare to review to determine if a recoupment will be made on a remittance advice (Medicare Check). Audits can be done on claims with dates of service as far back as October 1^st, 2007 currently. After October 1^st, 2010 these audits will go back up to three (3) years for the date of service.

What if PCC doesn't currently handle your billing? You should contact us to find out what we will do for you to ensure all of these important issues are managed for you in a timely, efficient, and secure manner.

Contact PCC for your free over-the-phone or onsite consultation.

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