BY JODY LOCKE, MA Vice President of Anesthesia and Pain Practice Management Services Coronis Health, Jackson, MI Five years in, the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still present in our industry. Ever since the second quarter of 2021—when surgical case volume dropped precipitously—most anesthesia providers have been asking the same two questions: when […]
BY TONY MIRA Interim CEO As we compile the articles for our quarterly newsletter, Communiqué, we try to identify the most significant trends affecting our clients and the specialty of anesthesia. The good news is that the pandemic is now disappearing in the rearview mirror. The bad news is that the national anesthesia manpower shortage […]
I. Scope This policy applies to Coronis Health, LLC and all of its affiliated entities and subsidiaries and governs the use of Short Message Service (SMS) texting by Coronis Health, LLC for communicating with FirstAnesthesia clients regarding account-related matters. II. Purpose The purpose of this policy is to establish […]
Last week, we sent out a special alert advising our readers of a change in Aetna’s payment policy in connection with physical status (PS) modifiers on anesthesia claims. The payer announced it would no longer provide additional payment for PS 3-5, effective July 15 of this year. Not to be outdone, several of the “Blues” […]
BY DAVID J. PLATT, MPA Senior Vice President, Anesthesia, Coronis Health, LLC, Everett, WA Anesthesia provider shortages have been commonplace across health systems since the turn of the century, resulting from fewer anesthesia residency graduates and increased demand for surgeries, especially in the outpatient setting. In turn, we saw a surge in hospitals providing anesthesia […]
On April 10, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) proposed rule. While these provisions are not final, they do give current insight into the agency’s thinking in terms of a host of issues concerning the inpatient hospital setting, including […]
We’ve come a long way since the days when the milkman would make his deliveries at the door and the doctor would make house calls, black bag in hand. Now, we order our goods online and we can even see our healthcare professional via the latest telecommunications technology. Americans love convenience, and it is certainly […]
According to an April bulletin published by Aetna, the payer will no longer reimburse additional unit value(s) for anesthesia physical status (PS) modifiers, effective July 15, 2024. Aetna gave as a reason for the decision its desire to align with similar Medicare guidelines. It should be noted that this change will only affect Aetna’s commercial […]
We recently brought an alert dealing with allegations against Medicare Advantage (MA) to the effect that MA plans were more prone to deny claims or delay payments when compared to Medicare or third-party payers. Medicare Advantage is back in the news—but, this time, for another reason. Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services […]
