Coding Career Wire

Confused by Medicare mumbo-jumbo? This simple quick-start guide puts you ahead of the pack on 3 key terms.

In a previous post, we got some good advice from Manas Maity, who recently passed the CPC-H exam. He told us he wishes he had known a little more about Medicare before he took the test.

So today, let’s brush up on Medicare terms that Maity suggests we know in order to pass the CPC-H exam— acronyms and rules like ABN, OPPS, and the Stark law. Understanding these terms will also come in handy for the practice management questions on the CPC exam. We’ll give you the basic facts about each one, plus some links to help you learn more. (more…)

Are any of these health systems or plans near you? How to suss out medical coding jobs as they come open.

While waiting at the pediatrician’s office with my kid the other day (no, it wasn’t the flu, thank goodness), I came across Working Mother Magazine’s list of the 100 best large companies to work for. And here’s the good news for us medical coding and billing professionals — at least 17 of the 100 companies listed are health systems or health plans that hire folks like us. That’s almost 20 percent.

How does Working Mother pick its ‘Best 100?’ The magazine judges how well the company’s benefits help its employees achieve ‘work-life’ balance, something appealing to anyone with a family and/or a life outside of work. They consider the employer’s telecommuting opportunities, flex-time options and child care benefits, for example.

How to find job openings: If you see an employer in the list below that’s based near you (or a place you’d like to live), google its corporate web site and go to the ‘employment’ page. Because the companies are all large, you can search positions by keyword. For example, I found 9 open positions listed right now at Baptist Health in South Florida with the keyword ‘coder.’ Don’t forget to try multiple keywords to describe what you are — like ‘coding,’ ‘biller,’ ‘informatics,’ etc. If you don’t see an opening, most sites allow you to submit a resume should something come up.

What follows is a list of the 18 health care systems and plans on Working Mother’s list, a sample benefit they have, where they’re based, and a link to the magazine’s write up about them. (more…)

If you think the only question to ask is ‘Does the physician own the equipment?’ think again.

Knowing your modifiers is often key to getting CPC exam questions correct. So, today we’re going to school ourselves on modifier 26 and modifier TC.

If a physician conducts diagnostic tests or other services using equipment she doesn’t own, you should apply modifier 26 (Professional component) to indicate that she provided only the professional component (the administration or interpretation) of the service.

Applying modifier 26 in the facility setting is not always as straightforward, however. Here’s a quick review of the rules you need to know.

Know Your Terms

You should apply modifier 26 only to those codes that have both a professional and a technical component. The service’s professional portion includes the physician interpretation and report, and the technical component pays for the equipment’s operation and maintenance, necessary supplies, etc. (more…)