BerryDunn’s independent perspective and knowledge of industry best practices help make your work more effective.
Medicaid
Announcements
HHS Proposes New ICD-10 Compliance Date
HHS Proposes New ICD-10 Compliance DateApril 10, 2012The Department of Health and Human Services announced on April 9, 2012, a proposed rule that would delay the compliance date for ICD-10 one year to October 1, 2014. Read the entire CMS release below.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2012
Contact: CMS Media Relations Group
(202) 690-6145
FACT SHEET
HHS proposes one-year delay of ICD-10 compliance date
(CMS-0040-P)Action
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced a proposed rule that would delay, from October 1, 2013 to October 1, 2014, the compliance date for the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition diagnosis and procedure codes (ICD-10).
The ICD-10 compliance date change is part of a proposed rule that would adopt a standard for a unique health plan identifier (HPID), adopt a data element that would serve as an “other entity” identifier (OEID), and add a National Provider Identifier (NPI) requirement. The proposed rule was developed by the Office of E-Health Standards and Services (OESS) as part of its ongoing role, delegated by HHS, to establish adopt standards for electronic health care transactions under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). OESS is part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Background
On January 16, 2009, HHS published a final rule to adopt ICD-10 as the HIPAA standard code sets to replace the previously adopted ICD–9–codes for diagnosis and procedure codes (see HIPAA Administrative Simplification; Modifications to Medical Data Code Set Standards to Adopt ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS, 74 FR 3328). The compliance date set by the final rule was October 1, 2013.
Implementation of ICD-10 will accommodate new procedures and diagnoses unaccounted for in the ICD-9 code set and allow for greater specificity of diagnosis-related groups and preventive services. This transition will lead to improved accuracy in reimbursement for medical services, fraud detection, and historical claims and diagnoses analysis for the health care system. Many researchers have published articles on the far-reaching positive effects of ICD-10 on quality issues, including use of specific reasons for patient non-compliance and detailed procedure information by degree of difficulty, among other benefits.
Some provider groups have expressed serious concerns about their ability to meet the October 1, 2013 compliance date. Their concerns about the ICD-10 compliance date are based, in part, on implementation issues they have experienced meeting HHS’ compliance deadline for the Associated Standard Committee's (ASC) X12 Version 5010 standards (Version 5010) for electronic health care transactions. Compliance with Version 5010 is necessary prior to implementation of ICD-10.
All covered entities must transition to ICD-10 at the same time to ensure a smooth transition to the updated medical data code sets. Failure of any one industry segment to achieve compliance with ICD-10 would negatively impact all other industry segments and result in rejected claims and provider payment delays. HHS believes the change in the compliance date for ICD-10, as proposed in this rule, would give providers and other covered entities more time to prepare and fully test their systems to ensure a smooth and coordinated transition among all industry segments.
Provisions of the proposed rule announced today
HHS is proposing to change the ICD-10 compliance date to October 1, 2014.
As stated, the ICD-10 compliance date change is part of a proposed rule that would adopt a standard for a unique health plan identifier (HPID), adopt a data element that would serve as an “other entity” identifier (OEID), and add a National Provider Identifier (NPI) requirement.
Standards compliance date
HHS proposes that covered entities must be in compliance with ICD-10 on October 1, 2014.
The proposed rule, CMS-0040-P, may be viewed at www.ofr.gov/inspection.aspx
A news release on the proposed rule may be viewed at http://www.hhs.gov/news
# # # # #Senior Consultant Earns MCMP-II Certification
Senior Consultant Earns MCMP-II CertificationFebruary 20, 2012BerryDunn is pleased to congratulate Senior Consultant, Laura Killebrew, for completion of her MCMP-II certification. MLC Certified Medicaid Professional (MCMP)-II is a designation of the Medicaid Learning Center (MLC), a strategic partnership between BerryDunn and The Medicaid Institute. MLC is an eLearning portal that provides Medicaid education to individuals and organizations, equipping people to understand Medicaid, Medicaid IT Architecture (MITA), Health Information Technology (HIT), and Healthcare Reform. Congratulations Laura!
BerryDunn Senior Consultant Receives PMP Certification
BerryDunn Senior Consultant Receives PMP CertificationJanuary 23, 2012In January 2012, Doug Rowe, a Senior Consultant at BerryDunn, became a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). The PMP certification is one of the most widely-recognized professional certification for project management and is a designation of the Project Management Institute (PMI). The PMP designation indicates that the holder has mastered the project management body of knowledge and as demonstrated experience leading and directing project teams.
Doug brings 30 years of IT industry experience to our team, including project management, enterprise system deployment, quality assurance, curriculum development and training, and technology support.
Congratulations Doug!BerryDunn's New Look
BerryDunn's New LookMay 18, 2011Not many consulting and accounting firms gravitate towards the color red, but BerryDunn is not your average firm. The firm is celebrating 37 years of business with a rebranding that introduces a new logo and combines all their services under the name of BerryDunn.
The rebranding reflects the firm’s multi-faceted growth – from its staff of nearly 200, to its industry-focused services; all of which have expanded significantly since its inception in 1974.
BerryDunn prides itself on providing services that help clients lower their cost of capital, structure smarter business deals, strengthen their governance, take advantage of industry trends, implement international strategies, identify appropriate benchmarks, measure and monitor risk, or strengthen their IT initiatives.
The firm’s Government Consulting Group will also be known by the new BerryDunn name.
“Our clients know us by a variety of names – many have been with us for years and worked directly with our founders, including Mike McNeil and Larry Parker,” said John Chandler, BerryDunn’s managing Principal. “We want to keep a connection to our roots and make our name memorable, consistent and easy for everyone to use and remember.”
The rebranding ensures the firm’s communication materials and corporate identity reflect the firm’s culture and leading-edge skills and consistent with the type of firm BerryDunn is today – a firm that offers business and technology consulting nationwide and sophisticated CPA and business advisory services throughout New England.
The new logo symbolizes the firm’s culture - providing professional, highly-respected services - but retaining a distinct character with spirited
personalities. Personalized work and community service is at the heart of the firm, as is a strong balance of work and play.“We now have a more easily understood message about what we do for clients, not just what we offer for services,” Chandler said.
BerryDunn, established in 1974, is the largest certified public accounting and management consulting firm headquartered in northern New England. We provide accounting and consulting services to clients in a wide range of industries, including government, higher education, health care, not-for-profit, retail, energy, construction, manufacturing, technology, professional services, and telecommunications.
New Additions to BerryDunn's Government Consulting Group
New Additions to BerryDunn's Government Consulting GroupMay 17, 2011BerryDunn is pleased to announce three new hires in the firm’s Portland office. Ryan Wrisley has joined the firm as a Senior Consultant, Bill Richardson as a Senior Consultant, and Meghan McInnis Doyon as a Consultant.
Ryan will work within the Government Consulting Group at BerryDunn with a special focus on state government. He earned his Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Maine and is a certified Project Management Professional. Ryan’s experience includes working for a vendor of government financial applications for nine years, where he managed the implementation of financial software for schools and health centers.
Bill will work within the Government Consulting Group at BerryDunn with a special focus on serving Medicaid clients. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Minnesota and has ten years of experience serving state Medicaid and health and human services agencies, including providing project management, requirements definition, system design, development, and testing for large health information systems. Prior to joining the firm, Bill worked for a vendor of government healthcare solutions.
Meghan will work within the Government Consulting Group at BerryDunn as a Consultant and Healthcare Policy Analyst. She earned her Masters of Public Policy from George Washington University and has expertise in public budgeting, policy analysis, and urban policy problems. Prior to joining the firm, Meghan worked for a care management, employee wellness, and decision support provider.
BerryDunn, established in 1974, is the largest CPA and management consulting firm headquartered in Northern New England, with offices in Portland and Bangor, Maine; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Boston, Massachusetts.
BerryDunn to Assist Massachusetts with State Medicaid Health IT Plan
BerryDunn to Assist Massachusetts with State Medicaid Health IT PlanNovember 18, 2010BerryDunn was recently selected to assist the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with the development of its State Medicaid Health Information Technology Plan (SMHP). The SMHP is required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's (ARRA) Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The SMHP developed through this initiative will detail how the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) will identify providers eligible for incentive payments, analyze and describe changes to the NewMMIS that will allow payment of the incentive amounts, determine and track the meaningful use activities of providers, track and monitor ARRA funds, and other required EHR functions.
BerryDunn will be engaging key partners within the Commonwealth at various levels, including the EOHHS, MassHealth, Massachusetts eHealth Institute, and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Upon its completion, the SMHP will be submitted by the Commonwealth for approval by the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
BerryDunn to Attend 2010 Fall NASMD Conference
BerryDunn to Attend 2010 Fall NASMD ConferenceNovember 2, 2010BerryDunn will be attending the 2010 Fall National Association of State Medicaid Directors (NASMD) Conference to be held in Arlington, Virginia. Sessions at the conference will cover a variety of topics, including: Health Care Reform, Electronic Health Records, and Quality Measures for Initial Core Set of CHIP Voluntary Reporting, among others.