—A CAU Client from Tennessee
Recent CAU eNews Articles
Here are just a few of the many recent articles that could benefit your HME business:
- Are You Missing Some Money?
- Get Eligibility Faster
- Meet Us at MAMES and Medtrade Spring
- MAMES, CAU Clients & CAU Recognized
- CEDI Begins May 1 for Jurisdictions A and D
- Medtrade Spring: Refreshment on Tap
- Don't Make a Titanic Mistake
Are You Missing Some Money?
Are you missing some of your hard-earned money? Look at your Medicare remittances and you'll quickly find out.
We've been alerted to the fact that CMS is denying some claims due to problems with CMS's NPI crosswalk. CMS's crosswalk edits are picking up minor discrepancies and causing otherwise valid claims to deny. While only a handful of our clients have reported any problems with the NPI, reports from the Medicare provider community at large indicate claims are being denied for things as simple as: obvious typos or misspellings in the business name, adding or omitting any address information, or attempting to correct the tax identification number.
CMS admitted it has identified some problems with processing NPIs, but says that only a very small number of claims has been affected. Remember, however, that a number that seems very small to CMS, could seem very large to the rest of us. And how devastating are the consequences?
Various providers have reported:
- All their Medicare claims denying for months
- Tens of thousands of dollars in delayed payments
- Cash flow problems forcing them to work without pay or take out loans to keep their companies afloat.
CMS has created its own teams to track down and fix NPI problems, but unfortunately at this point the best defense appears to be a good offense. Examine your claims for any denial trends related to the NPI. The sooner your NPI says what CMS's edits say it needs to, the sooner you'll get paid. Verifying your NPI information with the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System is a good place to start.
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Get Eligibility Faster
If you're not using CMS's HETS eligibility system to check eligibility, there's no time like the present to sign up. In the past, CMS took six to eight weeks to complete the registration process. Lately, the registration process has speeded up and most registrations are being completed in four weeks.
Forget about the hours you used to spend on the phone checking eligibility! Once you're registered for the HETS system, you can use Solution/One HME Online Instant Eligibility to obtain customers' Medicare eligibility and deductible information in seconds via the Internet.
With Online Instant Eligibility, we make it easy for you. You can get customer Medicare eligibilty information without leaving your Solution/One HME system! We handle the Internet connection for you at no extra charge so you don't have to deal with CMS's approved AT&T resellers or go through set-up and testing on your own.
Now's the time to register for HETS and to get Online Instant Eligibility! Online Instant Eligibility is included with Solution/One HME Software as a Service and Solution/One HME eBilling-Service, and is available as an add-on for Solution/One HME Enterprise.
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Meet Us at Medtrade Spring
Join us for the MAMES 2008 Spring Convention and Exhibition in Omaha, Nebraska, this week. If you can't make it to the "home of the College World Series," we'll be visiting Long Beach, California, to attend Medtrade Spring from May 6-8. Stop by Booth 540 to let us show you some of the great new features in Solution/One HME. Our national account executives will be available to explain the advantages of Web-based Solution/One HME SaaS, server-based Solution/One HME, or the popular and convenient Solution/One HME eBilling-Service. You can also find out more about the many options we offer to help make your workday easier.
We hope to see you there! To find Booth 540 from the main entrance, make a hard left and pass Pride Mobility's booth on the left-hand side. Walk along the wall until you reach the 500 Aisle. Turn right into the 500 Aisle, and we'll be the fourth booth on the left.
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MAMES, CAU Clients & CAU Recognized
One CAU client described the MAMES awards presentation as "a clean sweep for CAU." We prefer to think of it as passionately doing our jobs for the industry, for CAU clients, and for their patients.
"The energy just jumped off the page." Marty Adrian of Midwest Alliance Medical began to describe the winning entry for the Midwest Association for Medical Equipment Services (MAMES) Associate Member of the Year. She continued to speak to the post-dinner crowd of providers and vendors at the Hilton Omaha as part of MAMES Spring Convention and Exhibition.
At the conclusion, Marty revealed Computer Applications Unlimited, Inc. as the MAMES Associate Member of the Year. Nathan Dinsmore, National Account Executive, and Brian Williams, Director of Sales and Marketing, accepted the award on behalf of the CAU team and left the stage to a standing ovation.
After allowing the meaning of the award to sink in and returning to Harrisburg, PA, Williams penned a note to MAMES Executive Director, Rose Schafhauser:
"Thank you and MAMES members again for the CAU team's Associate Member of the Year award. We are truly honored, as well as humbled, considering the caliber of people who have been previous recipients.
"There was so much I wanted to say during the award presentation. I wanted to ask MAMES members to glance toward the person on the left and then toward the person on the right. This is part of their support network.
"These people work tirelessly not only for themselves, but also for other providers and most importantly, the patients. No provider can isolate itself and accomplish nearly as much as becoming part of the greater good. And what better, more vibrant and energetic organization to represent "the good" in this industry than MAMES?
"Nate and I have already taken the award around the building to remind every CAU team member that he or she is part of the reason for this accomplishment. We plan to display the award in our lobby for all visitors to enjoy; and, to remind us as we enter each morning that our work here is vital to the HME providers that count on us every day."
To add to the celebration, long time CAU client, Lelia Wilkerson of Heritage Medical in Burlington, IA, won the prestigious MAMES Provider of the Year award. Lelia's contributions to the organization show in the strength of the Iowa-based contingency of provider involvement, which she nurtured, and in her dedication as a MAMES board member.
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CEDI Begins May 1 for Jurisdictions A and D
If you submit electronic claims to DME MAC Jurisdictions A and D, remember that you must use CMS's Common Electronic Data Interchange (CEDI) beginning May 1, 2008. Our CEDI module has been available to our clients for some time now and many have succesfully completed their first few submissions.
If you're not sure whether your company is ready to make the change to CEDI, wouldn't using one of our Solution/One HME products or services make life easier for you? Contact our national account executives to find our more about our products and how they can help you with CEDI and many other upcoming industry challenges.
DME MAC Jurisdictions B and C will begin using CEDI for electronic claims submissions on June 1, 2008. We're ready; are you?
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Medtrade Spring: Refreshment on Tap
Medtrade Spring is a great opportunity to get some much needed refreshment. Visit us at Booth 540 to see what refreshing new ideas you can take away with you!
If you look at your business from the same perspective day-in and day-out, you may find yourself getting tired of the view. At Medtrade Spring, you can renew your interest and energy and find newer and better ways to run your HME business.
Take a moment (or for the über-organized, schedule some time) to step back to see what other HME companies are doing. Make it a point to look at the companies that are just entering the market—often they don't limit themselves with the same assumptions HME veterans do. Are opportunities for new success out there, just waiting for you?
Stop by Booth 540 and we'll let you in on some refreshing ideas we've come across that may help you change your point of view. If you've picked up other ideas at Medtrade Spring—or brought some of your own—we'll show you how you can use Solution/One HME to get started.
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Don't Make a Titanic Mistake
Recent findings show outsourced and inferior components played a major role in the Titanic disaster. Not much has changed in the past hundred years: some vendors will still try to take advantage of you by selling you a substandard product. If you're looking for a HME billing and inventory solution, don't make a Titanic mistake, choose a solid and reliable Solution/One HME system.
You'll realize that Solution/One HME products and services are the smart investment for your future when you consider:
- We're the true experts. We work with HME only and we do it right.
- We're here for the long haul. We've served the industry exclusively for more than 20 years.
- We're invested in your success. We build solutions to help your entire business improve.
- We don't outsource. Our systems are developed with and supported by full-time staff.
- We don't rest on our record of success. We add new enhancements each day to make your job easier.
Don't be fooled by flashy looks or the patter of here-today, gone-tomorrow salesmen. Take a look at what we have to offer, and you'll see how dependable, efficient Solution/One HME products and services can keep your business safe and successful for years to come.
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