March 1, 2006

March 1 , 2006
E-Update

Table of Contents

AAA Issues Position Statement on Avian Flu

CMS Releases MedLearn Matters Article and More Details on MREP Software Forwarded from CMS

Register for the 2006 EMS Today Conference and Expo in Baltimore

AAA Issues Position Statement on Avian Flu

The AAA has posted on its website a position statement on the Avian Flu. The position statement is intended to by a resource on the Avian Flu for ambulance service providers and provides information on background, planning and further resources on the pandemic virus. We recommend that all AAA members visit the webpage which will act as a clearinghouse of information for AAA members.

The webpage can be accessed on the AAA website at www.the-aaa.org through the dropdown menu for "Industry Issues" or by selecting "About the AAA" and then "position papers". The AAA Board of Directors adopted the position statement at their meeting on February 9.

We would like to thank the AAA Professional Standards Committee and in particular Dr. John Russell for compiling the information on the Avian Flu and developing the statement.

CMS Releases MedLearn Matters Article and More Details on MREP Software
Forwarded from CMS

Medicare Remit Easy Print (MREP) software is available from your Medicare carrier or DMERC's website! In an effort to advance toward an electronic environment, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ( CMS ) has developed software called Medicare Remit Easy Print that enables physicians and suppliers* to view and print Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)-compliant 835s from their own computer. Remittance advices printed from the MREP software mirror the current Standard Paper Remittance Advice ( SPR ) format. Before using the MREP software, physicians and suppliers must have access to HIPAA 835 files.

This software offers new, important capabilities that allow physicians and suppliers to:

*View, search, and print remittance information

*Print and export reports of Denied, Adjusted and Deductible Service Lines

Physicians and suppliers can save time and money with MREP! Additional benefits for physicians and suppliers include the ability to:

*Print remittance information for individual or multiple selected claims, which allows physicians/suppliers to forward only those claims that are needed by other payers for secondary/tertiary payment. This eliminates the need for physicians and suppliers darkening individually identifiable data on the SPR , as they may do today, that does not pertain to the claim for which they are requesting payment.

*Find a claim based on customized search criteria, including health insurance claim number, procedure code, rendering provider number.

*Receive updates to Claim Adjustment Reason Codes and Remittance Advice Remark Codes three times a year. Physicians and suppliers can sign up on their Carrier or DMERC website to be notified of these updates.

*Eliminates physical filing and storage space needs.

MREP software information (including how to obtain a free copy) is available on Medicare contractor websites. To learn more about the new MREP software and how to receive the HIPAA 835, physicians and suppliers should contact their Medicare

carrier or DMERC. Medicare Part B Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Helpline phone numbers are available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ElectronicBillingEDITrans/ on the CMS website.

Providers using MREP have told CMS :

"I am very impressed with the free easy print software. It works great - and I am finding it is a great timesaver for billing secondaries to denial management. Thank you."

"We love our Easy Print Software and so do our other 17 providers that this business office supports."

"With the latest update we like the claim detail printing when we print the EOB."

Check out MREP software for yourself!

For your reference, a Special Edition Medlearn Matters article (SE0611) is available at:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedlearnMattersArticles/downloads/SE0611.pdf .

* This includes physicians, providers, suppliers, and qualified non-physician practitioners that bill Medicare Carriers, including DMERCs.

Please fill out attached registration form and be sure to check the box “Yes, I am an American Ambulance Association Member.”

For more information on the EMS Today Conference and Expo in Baltimore please click here

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