We recently updated our ICD-10 route slip to reflect the changes in ophthalmoscopy and cataract surgery codes (see below). The route slip is free for anyone to download who wants a paper backup to use at their office for those times when their software may go down.  If you are an OBS client, and would like a copy of the route slip to customize for your office, call Mary at 877.727.3695 and she can send you an editable version in Excel.

Click here to download:  Revised Route Slip

DISCLAIMER:  Please be aware that this is an abridged document not intended to replace a standardized coding manual with complete references and annotations.   Optometric Billing Solutions has made a good faith effort to review the contents for accuracy, but it is up to doctors and office to review all codes for completeness and correctness.  However, if you do find an error we missed, please email Mary at mary@obsTeam.com and she’ll be happy to review and correct the error and get an updated version posted!

There have been some important coding changes for 2020.

EXTENDED OPHTHALMOSCOPY

First of all, CPT codes 92225 and 92226 for extended ophthalmoscopy were deleted as of January 1, 2020. We now have two new codes based upon what area of the retina was examined and documented. (Ophthalmoscopy is no longer reported as initial and subsequent testing.) Use 92201 for examination of the retinal periphery or 92202 for the optic nerve and macula. Another important change for extended ophthalmoscopy is billing. These codes are now considered bilateral and are billed on one line with one reimbursement. (The old codes were billed per eye.) This, of course, is going to impact our doctors’ reimbursements.

NEW CATARACT SURGERY CODES

Additionally, starting January 1, 2020, two new codes were added for cataract surgeries: 66987 and 66988. These codes are used when two surgeries are done together to treat both cataracts and glaucoma. The surgeon first performs traditional cataract surgery with IOL insertion and then performs a laser surgery called ECP (Endoscopic Cyclophotocoagulation) for patients with uncontrolled glaucoma to reduce their intraocular pressures. CPT 66987 is for complex cataract surgery with ECP, and CPT 66988 is for basic cataract surgery with ECP. Also, the description for existing cataract surgery codes 66982 and 66984 have now been revised to read “without endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation.” We may start to see some of these new cataract surgery codes as we bill co-manages in the coming months.

6/18/19  EyeMed appears to be dropping remits this week from 6/4/19 that have not previously shown up on their website. Therefore, billers need to check their disbursement history to see if they have EOBs that weren’t there two weeks ago. Also, we’re also finding that some of these back-dated remits have no lab charges listed, so the checks don’t balance. However, if you look up the remit on EyeMed’s website, the claim is listed correctly so you can post and balance. Oh, the joys of billing!

VSP and Aspex Eyewear announced today that they have settled their legal disputes and that Aspex is rejoining the VSP network as an in-network frame provider.    As part of the agreement, Aspex agreed to pay a financial settlement to VSP and settle prior lawsuits.  The agreement between the two companies means that VSP patients may now purchaes Aspex frames under their VSP vision plans.

ATTENTION VSP CLINICS WITH ALTAIR TAKE-BACKS: If your VSP check usually has take-backs for Altair frames, then the 2/15 check that dropped today may be significantly short because of an Altair-Eyefinity glitch. Altair take-backs were either doubled or totally zeroed out the checks with an additional chargeback line titled “Eyefinity Services.” We called VSP, Eyefinity, and Altair this morning as soon as we discovered the problem. The Altair official said the error was totally on their end. They discovered it late last night and started going through accounts. They are currently in the process of issuing paper checks that will come through the mail. They are prioritizing by the amount of the take-back error, working on the largest take-backs first for accounts that were shorted over $1,000. OBS did an audit for all our clinics’ checks and has already contacted Eyefinity on behalf of those clinics that the Altair error impacted. A paper check should be mailed to you by next week. If you do not have payment for your Altair frames taken out of your VSP checks, then this glitch did not affected your VSP payment.

CMS has a handy tool for doctors to determine if they are exempt from MIPS participation in 2018 because they saw less than 200 Medicare patients or billed less than $90,000 in Medicare fees.  Go to https://qpp.cms.Gov/participation-lookup.

One of our billers was so excited because she filed her first claims with the new 11-character Medicare IDs, but her excitement soon turned to disappointment when 14 of the 16 claims rejected.   It took a little research and a few calls to Medicare to discover the problem:  the office had entered the ID numbers with the letter O instead of the number zero!

In order to avoid confusion over letter and number look-alikes, the new IDs will NOT have the letters O, I, B, L, S, or Z.    So when you see that round character in the ID, type in the number zero and not the letter O! (Or 1, 8, 5, and 2, instead of I, B, S, or Z!)  Being careful to enter the correct ID will save us all of lot of time-consuming rejections!

Please remind your front desk staff to be asking patients if they have received their new Medicare cards yet.  Scan copies of the new cards and update the Medicare numbers in your software.  Medicare will allow us to file under both IDs through next year, but you’ll want to start updating your records now.   Also, when you type in the numbers, please enter the IDs without dashes even though dashes appear on the card.

April 1, 2018–Important Medicare Changes Starting Now!

Beginning today and continuing throughout the next year, Medicare patients will be receiving new cards with new ID numbers.  In an effort to protect beneficiaries from identity theft, CMS is switching from social security numbers to 11-character IDs using both numbers and upper case letters.  Numbers will be generated randomly for each patient, and characters will have no assigned meaning.

Starting today, please make sure your front desk staff asks to see all cards from your senior patients.  If patients have already received their new card, take a copy and enter the new ID into your software, without the dashes.  If patients don’t have a new card yet, tell them that sometime during the next year they will be receiving a new card with a new number and ask them to bring  the new card to all appointments.  All Medicare patients will have new cards and numbers by April 16, 2019.

Railroad Medicare patients will also be receiving new cards. The new Railroad IDs don’t appear to be any different than traditional Medicare numbers, which could create filing issues since Railroad claims have to be sent to a different address.  Therefore, your front desk staff should be especially diligent to look for the Railroad logo on the top of the card or the “Railroad Retirement Board” notice on the bottom banner so they can enter these cards into your system as Railroad Medicare and not under traditional Medicare.

CMS knows that this will be a big change for both beneficiaries and providers alike,  Therefore, they will allow claims to be filed under either the old ID or the new ID until December 31, 2019 to give providers enough time to get their systems updated with the new numbers.  However, after this transition period is over, all claims without the new ID numbers will deny, so it’s important to start updating your software now!  Starting in June, CMS will also be providing a new lookup tool to assist offices in getting the most current numbers for their patients–but the easiest way is to get into the habit of asking patients for their new cards now!

The office training videos are back up! You should be able to log in now; the password is the same,  Thank you for your patience!

For our offices who haven’t looked at these videos, we invite you to check them out!  Click on Office Training on the upper right menu bar. We created the content because we found that staff members at our offices often had the same questions, especially when they hired new staff. So these videos are meant to train your staff about the insurance side of their positions. Each video runs from 5-10 minutes in length. All videos are password protected, so if you don’t have the password, please call your coordinator or Mary at 877-727-3695, ext 210.

3.1.18  EyeMed is currently notifying providers that some of the 1099s they issued had wrong payment amounts, so they are currently in the process of reissuing corrected 1099s.  Per EyeMed, clinics should be getting new 1099s within the next two weeks.   The corrected form will have an X at the top in the CORRECTED box, and this is the one offices must file with their 2017 returns.