Several pieces of legislation supported by MARHC are moving forward in the Missouri legislature. The two telehealth bills, SB 621 and HB 1923, are nearing final passage. SB 621, sponsored by Sen. Gary Romine (R-Farmington), was passed by the House with amendments this week. It will return to the Senate and then to conference committee to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions. HB 1923, sponsored by Rep. Jay Barnes (R-Jefferson City), was recently passe

CMS recently announced that it asked all Medicare Administrative Contractors to hold RHC Medicare claims submitted on or after April 1, 2016 due to processing problems. It was not immediately clear how significant the problem was or how long it would take to fix. According to CMS staff, the problem is serious and will take about 10 days to resolve, but it is not quite as major as first feared. The programmers think they will have a fix in place between April 21 and April 25.

CMS has announced that due to significant problems processing claims under the Fiscal Intermediary Standard System (FISS), formerly known as the Florida Shared System (FSS), all Rural Health Clinic Medicare claims with a date-of service on or after April 1, 2016 are being held by the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs). At this time, we do not know how long this hold will be in place. The National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC) has been assured that this p

The Missouri House passed Rep. Jay Barnes' telehealth bill, House Bill 1923, by a vote of 154 to 1 this week. HB 1923 authorizes providers to perform services via telehealth if the services are within their scope of practice and they can meet the same standard of care as provided face to face. This section includes an emergency clause, meaning it will go into effect upon the bill's final passage. HB 1923 also expands the current list of providers eligible to receive Medicaid

Starting today, RHCs are required to report the appropriate HCPCS code for each service line along with the revenue code. Services provided through March 31 should be billed under the previous guidelines. Payment for RHC services will continue to be made under the All-Inclusive Rate (AIR) system when all program requirements are met. The following resources contain detailed information on navigating the billing policy changes: CMS Rural Health Clinics Center HCPCS Requirement