Blogs

One of the most frequent questions I get is about reimbursement for chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) exams. Everyone agrees they require more technical expertise and time to complete, right? Then, why don't we get paid more for them? Since I am not an expert on the subject, I turned to two people who are- Joe Zygmunt, RVT, RPhS and William (Bill) Schroedter, RVT, RPhS, FSVU. In an article originally published in the Spring 2016 issue of VEIN Magazine , they discuss this topic in "Venous Duplex: Two Sides of the Coin". In the first part of the article, Joe compares the protocols for venous duplex exams performed to 1) rule out deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and ...

I want to get paid for my work. I deliver great customer service and high quality noninvasive vascular testing. Don't get me wrong….I can be charitable too. But, I have expenses to cover. The same is true for my employer. Because we want to get paid, it is important to monitor for changes in reimbursement. In this post, I will look at Local Coverage Determinations, or LCDs. An LCD is a determination by a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) that defines coverage for a particular service in the contractor's jurisdiction. LCDs must be consistent with all statutes, rulings, regulations, and national policies for coverage, payment, and coding. LCDs may ...

As promised, this post will look at a website used to find, review and submit comments on Federal rules that are open for comment and published in the Federal Register . In January 2003, Regulations.gov was launched to provide public users access to federal regulatory content. In the past, if members of the public were interested in commenting on a regulation, they would need to know the sponsoring agency, when it would be published, review it in a reading room, and then adhere to the comment process specific to each agency. Regulations.gov removed the logistical barriers that made it difficult for a citizen to participate in the complex regulatory ...