April 7th, 2010 by admin
To the Georgia Section of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Recently, Ralph Hale MD, the executive vice president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists sent out a report regarding National STD Awareness Month. Throughout April, MTV and the Kaiser Foundation, working with the CDC and other supporting organizations are supporting the GYT (“Get Yourself Tested”) campaign. This campaign is an attempt to inform young people about STDs and to normalize testing.
This brings us an opportunity to enlist the support of the ob/gyns of this state to address the continued high burden of Chlamydia infections, especially among young women under 25. The college is encouraging providers to increase Chlamydia screening rates. Routine annual screening for sexually active females 25 years of age or younger is now recommended by the college, as well as the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Preventive Medicine, the AMA and the CDC.
Please try to enlist this screening into your routine exam for the age groups mentioned above. Go to the college web site for additional information.
March 31st, 2010 by admin
Monday, March 22, by a vote 7 to 0 the Georgia Supreme Court overturned the caps on emotional, non-economic pain and suffering passed in the 2005 Tort Reform Legislation. The cap was the center piece of the reform legislation passed in 2005.
The 2005 legislation never capped economic damages such as medical expenses or lost wages. Passage of the non economic cap as part of the legislative package was enough to stabilize malpractice coverage rates and entice more malpractice carriers to the Georgia market improving the OBGyn healthcare market. Exodus of OBs from practice stabilized, access to care for women in the state improved and claims activity decreased. There is concern that overturnment of the cap may lead to a decline in access to obstetrical care for women in Georgia.
March 9th, 2010 by admin
The newest proposed state budget includes a 1.98% Medicaid fee cut for physicians and a 1.6% bed tax for hospitals. The budget is currently under discussion by both the House and Senate.
Budget changes and budget votes will probably occur in March and April. One suggestion many health care providers have to fill the budget hole is a tax on tobacco. Find out more about the tobacco tax as a solution by looking under faxes at the communications tab on this web site. Click here for information!
Contact your local Senator and Representative if you are concerned about the cut. Find your Georgia Legislators by clicking on the resources section of this site.
January 22nd, 2010 by admin
At the end 2009 Blue Cross Blue Shield began denying payment for many cytopathology/pap smear codes due to implementation of a claims edit system aimed at detecting claims bundling, duplicate billing and other problems. Cytopathology/pap smear codes (88141-88155, 88164-88167, and 88174-88175) were denied when submitted with Evaluation and Management Services. Many OBGyn practices in Georgia were affected by the denials.
Blue Cross indicates that they will reinstate payment for those codes for a minimum of six months. Claims denied as a result of the edit will be reprocessed and paid. Re-filing of the denied claims is not necessary. And, in future, prior to reinstating the system that denies payment on pap smears, Blue Cross will provide 90 days notice of the change.
The Society plans to work with Blue Cross to discuss alternate ways of implementing claims editing so that pap smear payments will not be affected.
For additional questions please contact your local Blue Cross Blue Shield representative.
December 23rd, 2009 by admin
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