As the end of 2021 approaches, let’s take a look back at what’s happened and look forward to what’s to come.
At the beginning of the year, we started our blog with the aim at spreading news and awareness about healthcare insurance and the medical industry. We’ve covered different topics in medical billing from vocabulary to different CPT codes.
We also looked at other topics such as Working Capital and Your Healthcare Practice and Understanding EOB Payments and Denials.
There were also important updates in the industry and more changes to come. One big topic in 2021 is the No Surprises Act which starts January 1, 2022. Please make sure you and your facility understand the terms and know how to properly implement this Act.
During the year, in September 2021, it was announced that a new $25.5 billion fund would be available as part of the Provider Relief Fund and the American Rescue Plan Rural, to continue helping providers affected by the pandemic. For the Provider Relief Fund, Period 1 reporting was also in 2021. Providers were given a 60-day grace period to submit reports and come into compliance. This grace period ended November 30th, and providers must return unused funds no later than December 30, 2021, 11:59 PM ET.
Relating to the pandemic and vaccines, several authorizations for vaccines, as well as their corresponding CPT codes, were issued this year. The Physician’s Fee Schedule for 2022 was also released with policy updates that will start on January 1, 2022.
Lastly, at Americare Network, we also went through some changes. We started working with pharmacies and helping bill for HRSA related claims, alleviating administrative burdens of pharmacists due to the heavy demands of the pandemic. We integrated with HL7 to help make the testing and collections billing process as easy as possible for our clients.
We are also happy to announce that our app, AmyCare, and our EMR system are about ready to use. Partnering with pharmacies and telemedicine providers, our app will create a connection between patients and different parties in the healthcare community, providing more care options for patients. Our EMR system will help create a cohesive, HIPAA compliant database for easy, organized record-keeping.
There have been many changes to the healthcare community and Americare Network this year. We will continue to keep up-to-date with changes in the industry and work to help our healthcare providers even better with their billing needs.
If you need help with your healthcare practice’s medical billing, contact us today to learn more about how we get you results.
