Major issues now before congress include Patient Bill of Rights, Medicare reform, prescription drugs, medical errors reporting, adjustments to the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, medical records confidentiality, expansion of access to the uninsured, reimbursement for physician practice expenses, physician collective bargaining relief, and appropriations for the National Institutes of Health. Health care issues left unresolved by Congress could easily become campaign fodder and may be dispositive in certain close elections. The problems discovered when its liability claims are reviewed should be a valid sample of problems occurring in many pathology practices. 344 pathology claims reported to TDC from 1995 to 1997 were reviewed. The potential damages and fines can be astronomical if you find yourself the target of fraud allegations.
Pathologists are responsible for the actions of their agents e.g. contracted billing services.
Arrangements with billing services that pay the service more for increased collections are viewed by the OIG as an invitation for the service to fraudulently bill. Arrangements where fees are determined as a percentage of collections should therefore be avoided. View the advice of consultants with skepticism. Correct CPT coding is essential to avoid fraud and abuse. The number of containers received is not relevant to the CPT definition of the specimen.