Clinical
Affairs News
VP for Clinical Services,
Carlotta Kimble, M.S., CCC-SLP
Dear MSHA Members,
To assist you with questions that you may have regarding
Medicaid billing and reimbursement, we have included on our MSHA
website a copy of the Medicaid
Billing and Reimbursement Handout presented at the 2006 MSHA
Convention. This handout may be helpful in providing you with some
insight into common Medicare billing and reimbursement questions.
We would stress, however, that this handout is merely a means to
provide you with foundational information ONLY. Members and
providers who have questions regarding Medicaid billing and
reimbursement should continue to reference the bulletins and
manuals that are provided for your information and education.
I have enjoyed hearing from many of you
regarding various issues in the clinical services realm. As a
result of your inquiries, we have established a
Frequently Asked Questions link for Clinical Services on
the MSHA website. 2007 will be a busy year for the Clinical
Issues and Multicultural Affairs Committees. A call for
volunteers and recent reimbursement news items are included
below.
Volunteer
Requests
MSHA is continuing the Minority Student
Leadership Program this year and is currently seeking volunteers
to serve in the following roles: mentors for the Minority
Student Leadership scholarship recipients, mentors for all
Minority Student Leadership scholarship applicants,
readers/judges for the student applications, and general
committee members for other organizational components of the
Minority Student Leadership Program. For more information or to
express interest in any of the volunteer positions, please
contact me via email at
carliekimble@yahoo.com.
MSHA REIMBURSEMENT NEWS
Reimbursement Issues - Documentation Form
If you are a MSHA member and are having
problems with healthcare coverage for speech-language pathology or
audiology services and/or associated devices, such as hearing
aids, cochlear implants, augmentative communication systems, etc.,
MSHA would like to hear about it.
The
Missouri Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Reimbursement Panel
is comprised of speech-language pathology and audiology providers
who are MSHA members. The Reimbursement Panel is interested in
collecting information about reimbursement problems facing MSHA
members so that we might be able to develop advocacy strategies to
address those issues.
Click here to
obtain a form to inform MSHA of your reimbursement problems.
NEWS
MSHA has
launched its first Reimbursement Initiative, made possible
by the drive and determination of Jean Foster, ASHA Legislative
Council Representative and the ASHA STAR (STate Advocates for
Reimbursement) representative for the state of Missouri. A
Reimbursement Panel was formed under the Clinical Issues
Committee. The panel will highlight reimbursement issues for the
state and attempt to provide a central support network to offer
solutions to MSHA members.
The
Reimbursement Panel for 2005-2006, made up of volunteers from the
MSHA membership, consists of the following subcommittees:
CONSUMER
ADVOCACY
subcommittee: The members of this group are responsible for making
contacts and gathering testimonials from consumers who would be
willing to testify to the benefits of speech pathology and
audiology services. Letters of support and contacts will be
maintained in a central database.
HEALTH
INSURANCE ADVOCACY
subcommittee: The members of this group are responsible for
working to facilitate information between speech pathologists and
audiologists and insurance companies across the state through
ongoing relationships. Activities can also include working to
standardize code numbers, reviewing insurance forms used by
members, and informing insurance companies of all facets of speech
pathology and audiology, including evaluation, treatment, and
prevention. Members of this group will also work to obtain
representation on insurance company and carrier boards, and
maintain current information on changes from insurance companies
that would affect MSHA members.
LEGISLATIVE
ADVOCACY
subcommittee: The members of this subcommittee are responsible for
making contacts with legislators and informing them about all
facets of speech pathology and audiology, including evaluation,
treatment, and prevention. An additional goal of this group is to
strive to make speech pathology and audiology visible professions
in the legislative arena. These members will also be in contact
with legislators to disseminate information to them regarding MSHA
members’ concerns.
These
groups-Consumer Advocacy, Health Insurance Advocacy, and
Legislative Advocacy will begin as “information gathering” only.
The members of these groups will work to establish contacts and
build databases of names, addresses, and phone numbers. The
consumer advocacy group will also work to build a database of
letters of support from consumers. The eventual goal is to achieve
consistent on-going communication between these groups and their
targets.
The entire
reimbursement panel is working on MEMBER EDUCATION. The
first goal for the Member Education Subcommittee is to hold at
least one reimbursement seminar per year, which will be offered to
MSHA members at a nominal fee with ASHA CEUs available. A
reimbursement speaker has already been identified for the
Reimbursement Seminar for 2006, which will be held in conjunction
with the MSHA Fall Workshops in Columbia. Ken Ruder, Ph.D., an
audiologist from Ohio, will be addressing reimbursement advocacy.
He has been involved in reimbursement advocacy for his state
association and with numerous campaigns for ASHA as an advisor and
consultant. Please mark your calendars for
September 23, 2006 for this
Saturday morning workshop.
The second goal
for Member Education is to schedule reimbursement speakers for the
annual MSHA convention. Speakers have already been secured for the
2006 MSHA Convention and schedules are on the convention program,
including
Missouri Medicaid Speech Therapy & Audiology
Services and The Grievance and Independent Review
Process.
The
Reimbursement Panel will hold its next meeting from 4:45-5:45 at
the 2006 MSHA Convention, with the location to be announced. This
will be an open meeting following the second of the two scheduled
reimbursement sessions. All interested MSHA members are invited to
attend.
To
read more about MSHA’s Reimbursement Initiative, see Jean Foster’s
article in the December 27, 2005 Issue of the ASHA Leader.