ASCO, CMS, & NCI News

The following information has been received by ANCO.


****ASCO NEWS****
The American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO) Practice Insider was published today and is available online at http://view.exacttarget.com/?j=fe5515797c640d787c14&m=ff311d707460&ls=fde71372736202747417777c&l=fe5e1575706c067d7d10&s=fe1f15797d620479731d75&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe3616737465077f7c1573. ANCO is a state/regional affiliate of ASCO. This edition features:

1. "Red flags" rule compliance date pushed to Aug. 1

2. Medicare Updates Instructions on Billing Routine Costs of Clinical Trials (Part A and B)

3. Drug Shortage Updates

4. FDA Reverses Action to Pull Unapproved Liquid Morphine Off Market

5. CIGNA Modifier Policy

6. Kathleen Sebelius Confirmed as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services

7. Medicare Announces Sites for Pilot Program to Improve Quality as Patients Move Across Care Settings

8. Q&A with Sue Bowman of AHIMA: ICD-10-CM Diagnosis and ICD-10-CM PCS Transition

9. Billing and Coding Q&A


Best of ASCO® Los Angeles Deadlines Quickly Approaching!
Act by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on May 13, 2009 to receive discounted registration rates for the Best of ASCO Los Angeles meeting scheduled for June 19-20, 2009 in Los Angeles, CA. The meeting will feature premier abstracts from the 2009 ASCO Annual Meeting, representing the most relevant, cutting-edge research in oncology today. Also, don’t forget to make your housing reservation for the meeting prior to the May 13, 2009housing deadline. Go to www.asco.org/boa to register and reserve housing today!


****CMS NEWS****
Providers may now register for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ ICD-10-CM/PCS Implementation and General Equivalence Mappings (Crosswalks) National Provider Conference Call that will be conducted on May 19, 2009 from 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. This conference call will include a discussion of the following topics:

· An overview of the ICD-10 final rule, which requires the implementation of ICD-10-CM/PCS on October 1, 2013;

· The differences between ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM/PCS codes;

· The use of the General Equivalence Mappings that have been created to assist in converting
policies, edits, and trend data from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM/PCS; and

· The resources that are available to assist in planning for the transition from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM/PCS.

Note:
A new fact sheet has been developed that provides additional information about the ICD-10 General Equivalence Mappings, and the slide presentation that will be discussed during the conference call has been revised. These discussion materials have been posted in the Downloads Section at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ICD10/07a_2009_CMS_Sponsored_Calls.asp . If you are unable to access the hyperlink in this message, please copy and paste the URL into your Internet browser.


A new Medicare Secondary Payer Fact Sheet (April 2009), which provides a general overview of the MSP provisions for individuals involved in the admission and billing procedures at provider, physician, and other supplier settings is now available in downloadable format from the Medicare Learning Network at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/MSP_Fact_Sheet.pdf .


MM6438 – Modification of the Common Working File (CWF) Copybook to Transmit “WC” Qualifier Alpha Codes to Various Systems. (supplement to CR 5371)
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM6438.pdf


MM6358 – Processing and Payment of Physician and Non-Physician Practitioner Services Reassigned to Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs)
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM6358.pdf


MM6395 – Section 148 of The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA)
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM6395.pdf


SE0726 – Clarification about the Medical Privacy of Protected Health Information
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE0726.pdf


MM6407 – Medicare Claims Processing Manual Clarifications for Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) and Therapy Billing
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM6407.pdf


****NCI NEWS****
We are pleased to announce the launch of the new NCI Publications Locator (NCIPL) site! NCIPL offers users the ability to view and order NCI publications online. Please check it out...

www.cancer.gov/publications

Over the past year, a team worked to completely redesign NCIPL to offer a much more user friendly experience and improved public interface. Usability and focus group testing was conducted as well. The result is a refreshed, secure system with greater ease of use, accessibility and advanced features.

Improvements to the site include:

- A look and feel similar to cancer.gov
- A homepage that offers additional browsing options
- Links to Announcements, Featured Publications and New and Updated Publications
- Improved search capabilities to locate, select and order materials
- More publication information to include last reviewed date, publication format and page count
- An expanded Publications Details page that includes Audience, Language, Physical Description and Related Products
- Thumbnail images for most publications
- Advanced order capabilities to include a shopping cart and order progress bar
- A Self-Printing options page offering various ways to print the publications