Medical Review

On 3/16/2021, NGS Part A MR Department initiated a service specific post-payment review of randomly selected claims billed for the following services mentioned in JK for Part A providers in the states of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island.

Edit Reason Code: 5AAHP
Bill Type = 32X or 33X
Service Description: Home Health Services

The results of this review provide a summary of claims with dates of service of 1/2/2019 through 12/30/2019.

Note: Results are for post-payment medical record determinations only and do not include appeal results for overturns and decision reversals. ​​​​​​​

Error Rate Calculations Error Rates
# Claims Reviewed 750
# Claims Denied 493
Claims Denial/Error Rate (CER) 65.73%
Charges/Payment Error Rate (PER) 26.34%

 

Top Denials:

  • Reason Code 55H2B: Based on information provided, the beneficiary's illness or injury did not prevent the beneficiary from leaving their home unaided. Therefore, Medicare will not cover the services listed. 
    • 181 claims denied
    • Examples: The documentation did not included any indication the beneficiary was confined to the home or that it was a taxing effort for the beneficiary to leave the home.
  • Reason Code 55HTW: The physician certification was invalid since the required face-to-face encounter was missing/incomplete/untimely.  
    • 66 claims denied 
    • Example: There was no documentation of the required face-to-face encounter visit included in submitted records.
  • Reason Code 55HTP: The initial certification was missing/incomplete/invalid, therefore, the recertification episode is denied.
    • 52 claims denied
    • Example: The start of care plan and initial certification were not included in records submitted.
  • Reason Code 56900: No response from medical record request.
    • 48 claims denied
    • Reason code 56900 will occur when providers do not respond to an ADR. This reason code can and should be prevented.  When providers receive an ADR, respond according to the date listed in the ADR. Providers should start gathering the documentation being requested immediately. This will ensure that there is adequate time to gather all of the supporting documentation that is being requested so that the timeframe for submitting the information can be met. Depending on what is being requested, providers may have to go outside of their facilities to get the supporting documentation and this may require time to be received from that entity.

Related Content

Posted 1/13/2022

Helpful Resources

Targeted Probe and Educate Manual

The preferred method to submit Medical Records is NGSConnex

Visit our Contact Us page for other methods of submission

Helpful Resources

Targeted Probe and Educate Manual

The preferred method to submit Medical Records is NGSConnex:

Visit our Contact Us page for other methods of submission.

Helpful Resources

Targeted Probe and Educate Manual

The preferred method to submit Medical Records is NGSConnex:

Visit our Contact Us page for other methods of submission.

Helpful Resources

Targeted Probe and Educate Manual

The preferred method to submit Medical Records is NGSConnex:

Visit our Contact Us page for other methods of submission.

Helpful Resources

Targeted Probe and Educate Manual

The preferred method to submit Medical Records is NGSConnex:

Visit our Contact Us page for other methods of submission.

Helpful Resources

Targeted Probe and Educate Manual

The preferred method to submit Medical Records is NGSConnex:

Visit our Contact Us page for other methods of submission.

Helpful Resources

Targeted Probe and Educate Manual

The preferred method to submit Medical Records is NGSConnex:

Visit our Contact Us page for other methods of submission.

Helpful Resources

Targeted Probe and Educate Manual

The preferred method to submit Medical Records is NGSConnex:

Visit our Contact Us page for other methods of submission.