Understanding the Strength of Medical Evidence In the pursuit of evidence-based medical practice, it is essential to evaluate the quality and strength of scientific research thoroughly. The table below provides a comprehensive ranking of [...]

New York

New York Member Name Professional Title Association Business Name/Address Email Auster, Morris Vice President Division of Socio-Medical Economics Medical Society of the State of New York P. O. Box 5404 [...]

Save the Date! National A/B MAC Ambulance Provider/Supplier Coalition

Save the Date! National A/B MAC Ambulance Provider/Supplier Coalition Attention Ambulance Providers As the MACs celebrate and honor the dedication and contributions to healthcare made by those who provide frontline lifesaving services to our [...]

Medicare Part B Redetermination Notice Initiative Coming Soon

Medicare Part B Redetermination Notice Initiative Coming Soon National Government Services will discontinue issuing paper MRNs for Medicare Part B redetermination requests that are submitted electronically through our portal, NGSConnex. [...]

Claims for Drugs Without a Product-Specific Code Assigned

Claims for Drugs Without a Product-Specific Code Assigned National Government Services has noticed that when a claim RTPs for additional information to be added to the Remarks field concerning certain drugs, some providers attempt to provide [...]

Denials for HCPCS G2211

NCCI editing for HCPCS G2211 code was updated on 12/05/2024 to require HCPCS G0463 as the primary code for G2211 add-on code. This has resulted in denials of claims for the add-code G2211 when billed with CPTs 99202-99205 and 99211-99215. [...]

MLN Connects® Newsletter: March 13, 2025

MLN Connects® Newsletter: March 13, 2025 News Medicare Shared Savings Program: Application Deadlines for January 1, 2026, Start Date Claims, Pricers & Codes ICD-10 Coordination & Maintenance Committee: Submit Procedure Code [...]

What Should Be Provided if Medical Records Are Requested for Review?

What Should Be Provided if Medical Records Are Requested for Review? The following should be considered if applicable to the service being reviewed. This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list. Progress/visit notes Physician orders [...]

Prepare and Submit an MSP Claim

Table of Contents Step 1: Determine if an MSP Claim Must be Submitted to Medicare Step 2: Check Medicare’s Eligibility Files via NGSConnex to Determine if There's Other Insurance Primary to Medicare Step 3: Prepare the MSP (Partial-Payment [...]

COVID-19 Vaccine and Monoclonal Antibody

COVID-19 Vaccine and Monoclonal Antibody With the end of the PHE, as of 5/11/2023, this information no longer applies. We will keep the information available for PHE-related services that occurred prior to the expiration date that have not yet [...]

837D Edit Spreadsheet

Safeguard Your Finances: Know Your Provider Enrollment Revalidation

Safeguard Your Finances: Know Your Provider Enrollment Revalidation  Attention: Provider Enrollment and Credentialing Teams Ensure you revalidate before your deadline to prevent a "Stay of Enrollment" or claim rejections, which could [...]

Resources

Resources You Can Help Your Patients Quit Tobacco Use Smoking Cessation Tools and Resources Smokefree.gov Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Tips from Former Smokers campaign Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Office on [...]

Common Tobacco Withdrawal Symptoms

Common Tobacco Withdrawal Symptoms Trying to quit tobacco use feels different for each person, but almost everyone will have some symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. When stopped, the body and brain must get used to not having nicotine. This can [...]

Hospital Inpatient or Observation Evaluation and Management Add-On Code G0545 for Infectious Diseases

Hospital Inpatient or Observation Evaluation and Management Add-On Code G0545 for Infectious Diseases Effective 1/1/2025 Definition of G0545 Visit complexity inherent to hospital inpatient or observation care associated with a confirmed or [...]

Office/Outpatient Evaluation and Management Visit Complexity Add-on Code G2211

Office/Outpatient Evaluation and Management Visit Complexity Add-on Code G2211 Effective 1/1/2024 Definition of G2211 Visit complexity inherent to evaluation and management associated with medical care services that serve as the continuing [...]

Provider Enrollment: Top Reasons Behind Delays in Processing the Application

Provider Enrollment: Top Reasons Behind Delays in Processing the Application Medicare enrollment plays a vital role in ensuring compliance with CMS requirements. To help streamline the process and achieve the best results, it's important to [...]

Fiscal Intermediary Standard System Direct Data Entry Screen Changes – April 2025

Fiscal Intermediary Standard System Direct Data Entry Screen Changes – April 2025 The April 2025 quarterly system release will update FISS DDE as described below: Inquiries Submenu (01) Option 1C (CMHC Payment Totals)/MAP1D62 - Monetary [...]

Tobacco Cessation and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Tobacco Cessation and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT is a type of psychotherapy that’s problem oriented. It may help your patients learn how to change unhelpful or unhealthy ways of thinking, feeling and behaving especially when related to [...]

Provider Enrollment: Top Reasons Behind Delays in Processing the Application

Provider Enrollment: Top Reasons Behind Delays in Processing the Application Medicare enrollment plays a vital role in ensuring compliance with CMS requirements. To help streamline the process and achieve the best results, it's important to [...]

MCReF Hospice Cap Functionality

MCReF Hospice Cap Functionality Attention Hospice providers: The new MCReF Hospice Cap functionality will be covered in the upcoming MCReF Webinar scheduled for 3/19/2025, from 1:00 – 3:00PM ET.  The Hospice Cap provider community is [...]

NGS Review of Prior Authorization Request

NGS Review of Prior Authorization Request Table of Contents NGS Review of Prior Authorization Request Number of Trips Extended Affirmation Periods for Beneficiaries with Chronic Conditions Decision Letters Resubmitting a Prior [...]

Log In

Log In Table of Contents Log In Log into NGSConnex Log In Issues [Return to Top] Log In In order to login to NGSConnex, go to our website landing page. Read the standard disclaimer and click Accept to continue. [Return to [...]

Account Suspensions

Account Suspensions Table of Contents Account Suspensions Unsuspend Your Account Invalid Login Attempts [Return to Top] Account Suspensions If an NGSConnex account has not been used within the last 30 days, the account will be [...]

Caregiver Training Services

Caregiver Training Services Effective 1/1/2024, payment will be made when practitioners train caregivers to support patients with certain diseases or illnesses (e.g., dementia) in carrying out a treatment plan. A caregiver is defined as a [...]

Safeguard Your Finances: Know Your Provider Enrollment Revalidation

Safeguard Your Finances: Know Your Provider Enrollment Revalidation Attention: Provider Enrollment and Credentialing Teams Ensure you revalidate before your deadline to prevent a "Stay of Enrollment" or claim rejections, which could result in [...]

Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program 2025 Changes

Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program 2025 Changes The MDPP Expanded Model is intended to prevent Medicare beneficiaries with an indication of prediabetes from developing diabetes. Prevention of diabetes among this high-risk group of Medicare [...]

Home Health Claims Returning to Provider RC 19963

HH claims are returning to provider in error with RC 19963. This impacts HH claims with NOA/processed dates in January 2022. NOAs are being purged after 24 months. Please keep in mind there are claims that edit correctly for this reason code. [...]

NGS Office of Congressional Affairs Welcome Letter

Dear Members of Congress and Staff: As your work continues in the 119th Congress, National Government Services, Inc. maintains its dedicated role in serving your district/state as a Medicare contractor for Original Medicare. We are your [...]

Electronic Health Records

Electronic Health Records Eligible professionals under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program include: Doctor of medicine or osteopathy Doctor of dental surgery or dental medicine Doctor of podiatry Doctor of optometry Chiropractor If [...]

HETS EDI Recertification

MLN® Booklet: Medicare Billing: CMS-1500 & 837P

Provider Contact Center

Provider Contact Center Table of Contents Want to talk to us? Make the Most of Your Call Customer Care Representative Assistance Interactive Voice Response System NGSConnex Online Inquiry System Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [...]

Provider Contact Center

Provider Contact Center Table of Contents Want to talk to us? Make the Most of Your Call Customer Care Representative Assistance Interactive Voice Response System NGSConnex Online Inquiry System Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [...]

Provider Contact Center

Provider Contact Center Table of Contents Want to talk to us? Make the Most of Your Call Customer Care Representative Assistance Interactive Voice Response System NGSConnex Online Inquiry System Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [...]

Medical Necessity and the Advance Beneficiary Notice

Register for this webinar and learn how to properly administer the Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN) within the office setting. If you are a physician, nonphysician practitioner or office staff member and interested in learning [...]

Smoking Cessation Tools and Resources - You Can Help Your Patients Quit Tobacco Use

Smoking Cessation Tools and Resources - You Can Help Your Patients Quit Tobacco Use Smokefree.gov Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Tips from Former Smokers campaign Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Office on Smoking [...]

Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Database

Medicare offers several tools to help providers bill their services. Many questions you have can be answered by learning how to access and use the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Database. We hope you'll join us for an overview of this database.

Using NGSConnex to Prevent Eligibility Denials and Rejections

During this webinar, we'll examine common eligibility denials and rejections for National Government Services Part B claims and provide strategies from NGSConnex to prevent them in future submissions. There will be time following the [...]

Steps to Claim Corrections

This webinar includes the top continuous errors we find at National Government Services with claim submissions. Join us to learn how to correct your claims. We will also include an interactive segment on the different claim scenarios that cause [...]

Proper Part B Claim Submissions

This webinar is intended to educate providers and office staff members on how to complete a clean claim to avoid claim rejections, developments or denials. We will guide you through the CMS-1500 claim form and the electronic equivalent loops [...]

Being Compliant by Avoiding Claim Denials, Reopenings and Redeterminations

National Government Services is committed to reducing provider burden associated with Medicare claim denials, reopenings and appeals. Don’t wait until you receive the claim denials that will increase your time, effort, and cost to have the [...]

Laboratory Part B Billing

During this webinar, we'll review the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services billing requirements for laboratory and pathology services and includes appropriate modifier usage when submitting claims for laboratory/pathology services. [...]

Reducing Unprocessable Claims

When claims are submitted with invalid, incomplete or incorrect information, our claims processing system will detect these errors and will reject claims as unprocessable. Our goal is to assist our providers in submitting claims correctly the [...]

Repetitive Scheduled Non-Emergent Ambulance Transports Prior Authorization

Attention All Independent Ambulance Suppliers! If you are providing repetitive, scheduled, non-emergent ambulance transports (RSNAT), you'll want to attend this webinar. Join us to learn everything you need to know about the RSNAT program.

Medically Unlikely Edits

Medically Unlikely Edits An MUE is the maximum number of UOS allowable under most circumstances for a single HCPCS/CPT code billed by a provider for a particular date of service for a single beneficiary. All claims submitted by physicians [...]

Unprocessable Claim Rejections and Corrections

Unprocessable Claim Rejections and Corrections Unprocessable claims are medical claims that cannot be processed by Medicare Part B National Government Services, because they contain incomplete, missing or invalid information. Incomplete [...]

FY 2027 Hospital Wage Index Development Timetable Final

National Correct Coding Initiative

National Correct Coding Initiative CMS developed the NCCI to promote national correct coding methodologies and eliminate improper coding of Medicare Part B claims. Coding policies are based on coding conventions defined in the AMA’s CPT [...]

FY 2027 PUF Release

FY 2027 PUF Release Availability and Revisions to Wage Index PUF On Friday, 5/23/2025, CMS released the preliminary FY 2027 Worksheet S-3, Parts II and III wage index PUF. The FY 2027 IPPS wage index will be calculated based on Federal [...]

Patient Driven Payment Model

Patient Driven Payment Model Table of Contents Assessment Schedule Administrative Presumption Lookback Period (Observation Period) Examples General PDPM Resources [Return to Top] Assessment Schedule Learn more about the [...]

NGS Medical Review Process

NGS Medical Review Process Medicare contractors, like National Government Services, operate the medical review program to prevent improper payments and protect the Medicare Trust Fund. Medical reviews involve the collection and clinical review [...]

Skilled Nursing Facility Town Hall Question and Answers

Skilled Nursing Facility Town Hall Questions and Answers Are daily notes required for skilled rehabilitation? Answer: Daily notes for rehabilitation are not required, however, they do support that therapy performed was skilled and [...]

Required Documentation

Required Documentation Table of Contents Required Documentation The medical record should contain patient specific information detailing Certification and Recertification Requirements Signature Requirement for Certifications and [...]

Skilled Services

Skilled Services Table of Contents Skilled Services Skilled Nursing Examples of skilled nursing Skilled Therapy Skilled Respiratory Nonskilled Service Examples Examples of personal care services General Skilled [...]

Coverage Requirements

Coverage Requirements Eligibility, preadmission, and 30-day transfer are components of coverage requirements for Skilled Nursing Facilities. There are several components to each of the coverage requirements; please utilize the links below to [...]

How to Prevent Common Skilled Nursing Facility Denials

How to Prevent Common Skilled Nursing Facility Denials This resource was developed to increase awareness and educate SNFs on the top errors found by our Medical Review team. The information includes suggestions to ensure documentation [...]

How to Find and Respond to Post Payment Review ADR

How to Find and Respond to Post Payment Review ADR Table of Contents How to Find and Respond to Post Payment Review ADR Responding to Post Payment Review ADR Steps to View and Print ADRs from FISS/DDE Provider Online System Related [...]

NGS Medical Review Process

NGS Medical Review Process Medicare contractors, like NGS, operate the medical review program to prevent improper payments and protect the Medicare Trust Fund. Medical reviews involve the collection and clinical review of medical records and [...]

Skilled Nursing Facility Educational Center

Skilled Nursing Facility Educational Center As part of the effort to lower the SNF improper payment rate, CMS has initiated a five claim Skilled Nursing Facility Probe & Educate allowing for outreach to all Medicare billing SNFs in the [...]