The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has selected Palmetto GBA as the Medicare Administrative Contractor for Jurisdiction J. This jurisdiction, covering Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee represents 7% of the national Part A/Part B claim-volume workload.
This change is having a dramatic impact on anesthesia practices across this 3 state regions. These practices have worked with Cahaba GBA for years, and the migration process will take some time.
What Your Anesthesia Practice Needs to Know about Transitioning to Palmetto GBA
Medical Business Management has thoroughly analyzed this process, and here are the key things that your practice needs to know about the transition from Cahaba GBA to Palmetto GBA. We have worked with Palmetto GBA for years supporting clients in other regions, and we believe that this change will be beneficial for anesthesia practices and CRNAs in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia, but the transition will be challenging and there are a number of pitfalls to avoid.
Claims Processing
All internal processing for Medicare claims has changed. Pay close attention to revised procedures for Palmetto GBA.
Online Tools
Palmetto GBA has a number of online tools that were not available through Cahaba GBA. Medical Business Management has used these online tools and features have enabled Medical Business Management to better serve our clients with coding and claims processing.
Is Palmetto Anti-CRNA?
Some CRNAs are concerned because the Palmetto’s manager is an anesthesiologist. It is possible that CRNAs will get cut out of some things. The best thing that CRNAs can do to manage the transition is to ensure accurate coding and compliance. Contact MBM today to find out more about how these changes might affect CRNAs.
Faster Time Frames
Credentialing takes an average of 60 days, but Cahaba GBA has been taking 120 days. They had a lot of employee turnover and they are trying to catch up using temporary employees. This strategy has not been effective to this point, but anesthesiologists should see an immediate improvement with the transition to Palmetto GBA.
Resources for the 3 Month Transition Period
Part B transition started on December 1, 2017, and the process will be complete on December 26, 2018. Our goal is to manage the transition process for our clients so that they don’t have to re-credential. This is a critical time for anesthesia practices and CRNAs. Do you have questions about the transition process? Contact us today to find out what you need to do to ensure a smooth process.
