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Connecticut Athletic Trainers Association |
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Call to Action!
Very important for ALL athletic trainers:
Write Your Congressperson TODAY to Support H.R. 1846, Medicare Access to Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services Improvement ActA new bill, "Medicare Access to Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services Improvement Act" (H.R. 1846), was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. This is essentially the same bill that was introduced last fall; it died when the last Congress adjourned. A companion bill will be introduced in the Senate soon.
CATA COR Reimbursement Guidelines
Since Athletic Trainers in CT gained licensure our focus has shifted to Athletic Training Reimbursement. The COR has been working hard to help ensure our members understand third party reimbursement and its process.
Through the months of August and November we worked hard on compiling information to aid you in gaining reimbursement. If you have not yet viewed the binder, please do so now:
Next we ask that all of you register for your National Provider Identification number (NPI Number):
NATA strongly encourages all Athletic Trainers to register for their National Provider Identifier number (NPI) “NATA views having an NPI number like having a state license: it’s a professional requirement and adds credibility to both the individual and the profession,” says Cate Brennan Lisak, director of external affairs. “Once ATs get their NPI number, it will be theirs forever -- no matter where they work. There’s no downside to having an NPI number.” Applying for an NPI number is quick, easy and free. You don’t have to be in a reimbursement situation to need an NPI number.
The National Provider Identifier is the result of the mandate in the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) that the Secretary of HHS establish a standard national provider identifier. Though all healthcare providers will be eligible to receive NPI’s, covered healthcare entities will be mandated to use the NPI as the sole provider identifier on all HIPAA electronic transactions. The 10 digit number will be assigned by a CMS-funded NPI “Enumerator” through the NPPES (National Provider and Plan Enumeration System). Recently there has been some federal advisory committee hearings to make HIPAA the standard instead of FERPA!
The NPI is a numeric 10 digit identifier, consisting of 9 numbers plus a check-digit in the 10th position. It is accommodated in all standard transactions and contains no embedded information about the healthcare provider that it identifies.
When filling out your application use:
Provider Code 22 (Respiratory, Rehabilitative & Restorative Service Providers)
and Taxonomy Code 2255A2300X (Athletic Trainer)
To Apply go to:
https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov/NPPES/StaticForward.do?forward=static.npistart
To view the CMS Background and Application Process Information for Healthcare Providers Viewlet. This may take a few minutes to load.
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/npi/npiviewlet.asp
There is a link to help on the NPPES website, a toll free number 1-800-465-3203 or
Contact Patty Ellis, NATA Manager of Markets & Revenue 800.879.6282 ext. 133
During National Athletic Training Month the COR has been compiling data for all insurance companies currently serving in CT. We have begun to contact the chief medical officers of these companies and will be meeting with them in person.
Additionally the COR made insurance press kits that highlight the cost effectiveness of Athletic Trainers. For a copy of this press kit please contact
Eleni.Diakogeorgiou@ctathletictrainers.org.
Inpatient Hospital Settings and CMS
CMS rescinded applying the outpatient therapy guidelines to in-patient hospital policy. This would have restricted the provider pool to PT, OT, SLP.
The conventional wisdom is that CMS will try again through formal rule making. We’ll have to watch the Federal Register for updates and call for comments. This isn’t over yet.
What will the COR focus on next?
Once we have made contact with the majority of the insurance companies in CT, our next focus is to create and maintain a COR network, where CATA members can BLOG about reimbursement as well as obtain vital information on insurance carriers, insurance contacts, problems with insurers or the claim process, and related issues.
For more information on reimbursement please visit this link via the CAN WORC NATA Website, scroll to the bottom and visit the links under the reimbursement subsection.
http://www.nata.org/members1/CANWORC/index.cfm
Revenue Models:
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader for these downloads.
