Anesthesia Business Consultants reminds you to check monthly OIG Work Plan updates

Anesthesia Business Consultants President and CEO Tony Mira penned an alert reminding anesthesia groups to inspect the monthly Work Plan updates from the Office of the Inspector General.

HHS' OIG switched to a web-based format for its Work Plan. Instead of the annual or semiannual updates, the OIG is now publishing monthly updates to enhance transparency and respond to possible issues.

The current update had two proposals impacting anesthesia groups:

1. Anesthesia Services: Non-covered Services — OIG is reviewing Medicare Part B claims for anesthesia services to determine whether they met Medicare requirements. Specifically, OIG is looking to see if a beneficiary had a related Medicare service.

2. Anesthesia Services: Payments for Personally Performed Services — Physicians must use proper anesthesia modifier codes to denote whether a service was performed or medically directed. Improper reporting would make it appear as if services were performed by an anesthesiologist and will not result in Medicare paying a higher amount.

The OIG is taking a special interest in opioids. The agency conducted a study which found rising concerns of fraud and abuse as well as concerns for patient safety related to opioids.

For more information on how to sign up for Work Plan updates, click here.

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