News

Here are the handouts as well as the presentation by Aetna/Cofinity from the annual Lakeland Care Payor Conference held yesterday at the Hilton Garden Inn.

The letters from ASR that were sent to all of the Lakeland Care Network physicians, were sent in error.  Unfortunately, it’s created confusion, so here's a little clarity on the whole thing.

HAP is a network in the Detroit area and is expanding in the east and into northern Michigan. HAP bought ASR about 5 years ago and they are currently marketing their expansion into Northern Michigan. These letters were intended for the physicians in the eastern and northern Michigan expansion areas.

In case you haven't heard, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan (Medicaid) is now requiring all new providers to be enrolled in CHAMPS, due to State policy changes. They warn that failure to enroll could cause unnecessary delays in payment. This applies to both rendering and ordering/referring providers that are servicing Medicaid members.  As they receive rosters from Lakeland Care, they will validate each new provider to ensure they are enrolled in CHAMPS.  If the provider is not found in CHAMPS, Lakeland Care will notify your office.

The Lakeland Medical Office Association (LMOA) invites you to attend our September season kick-off luncheon and seminar.  **Please note this is a half-day seminar** 

Program:  Documentation - The Key to Preventing Medicare Recoupments

Here's a sneak peek at the first program that the Lakeland Medical Office Association will bring to you for our 2016-2017 season!

Come and learn from Medicare what they want in your documentation, because we all know if the documentation isn't there, you can risk losing a lot of money.

We encourage you to bring your physician(s) for this presentation, so block their calendars—and yours—and we'll see you at our season kickoff meeting on Wednesday, September 28th!

As of October 1, Priority Health will require the inclusion of National Drug Codes (NDC) on claims for services that include drugs. This aligns Priority Health’s billing requirements with many national payers.

Claims submitted on or after Oct. 1, 2016 without the NDC codes will be rejected. This applies to all Priority Health plans, and applies to all drugs on the claim (even if the drug is not a covered benefit).

More information:

“Speak for Yourself - Plan Your Care” is an advance care planning initiative through, Lakeland Health, Caring Circle, and the Southwestern Michigan Community. It involves a systematic approach to advance care planning. We are encouraging people, at any age, to have a designated decision maker, and identify their end-of-life wishes. The focus of the “Speak for Yourself - Plan Your Care” pilot is to have meaningful discussions with patients who are seriously ill and frail. Certified facilitators are located within the following pilot sites:

The 2016 Spring Edition of MPIE’s FACETS Newsletter is attached for your reference.  This issue contains the following articles:

You may have noticed a couple of surveys from Lakeland Care in your email over the past few weeks, or you might have been contacted by the Advisory Board via phone. THANK YOU to those of you who took the time to reply online and/or agreed to speak to the Advisory Board.  We value your feedback!

The UnitedHealthcare Community Plan "COMPASS" newsletter contains a variety of news and information of interest to Michigan patients, parents, and providers. The March issue includes new information about lead screening, MQIC updates, HPV vaccination, reports from the Michigan Cancer Consortium and more. Click on the following attachment to download the newsletter.

AM Best recently upgraded MPIE’s financial strength rating from to B++ stable (Good) to A- (Excellent) positive. The rating actions reflect MPIE’s strong risk-adjusted capitalization, historically profitable operating results, stable loss reserving trends and its expertise in Michigan’s medical professional liability market. Additionally, supportive rating factors include an expansion of MPIE’s enterprise risk management programs and underwriting performance that compares favorably with its peer companies.

Lakeland Care has added a new employer group, Kruger Plastics Products, as an employer direct contract who uses Heritage Consultants as their payor.  Kruger Plastics employees’ access to the Lakeland Care Network began January 1, 2016.  Please verify they are presenting their new ID card showing Heritage Consultants, since this group has used United Health Care and Preferred Benefit Administrators over the past couple of years.

The State of Illinois has not passed a 2015/2016 budget and therefore has stopped funding claims payment specifically for the Quality Care Health Plan/ State of Illinois retirees membership, account #3181456.  Their ID cards are attached (front and back):

The Lakeland Medical Office Association (LMOA) invites you to attend our March luncheon and meeting.

Program: “Do No Harm”: Best Practices for the Integral Roles of Medical Assistants and Administrative Personnel in the Physician Office

Why should you think twice before opting for a lunchtime cheeseburger?

What you eat can significantly affect your work performance, but we rarely give our digestive decisions any thought, consultant Ron Friedman writes in the Harvard Business Review.

Many of us intuitively know that high-carb meals can lead to a "sugar high" (and then crash), and that high-fat diets can cause us to become tired quickly after eating. But Friedman notes that we do not always make smart decisions when it comes to how we refuel our bodies at lunch.

TigerText is widely used as a secure health care messaging app which allows users to safely exchange non-emergent PHI with colleagues.  TigerText messages are encryped and set to self-destruct after a preset period of time, which ensures maximum corporate data security.  The app also complies with HIPAA, SOX, and other regulations.  Visit the app store on your mobile device to download. For questions, contact the help desk at Lakeland.

A written attestation of CME completion (as required by the State of Michigan for licensure) will be required by the Medical Staff Office 60-90 days prior to your physician license renewal.  Upon re-credentialing, documentation of completed CMEs required by Lakeland will be reviewed, in addition to the written attestation.

• Remember to keep collecting patient emails for the patient satisfaction surveys that are now through Sullivan Luallin
• Specialty offices:  Be on the look-out for an email regarding the Physician Group Incentive Program (PGIP) in the next month or two
• December’s PHO Report will be sent out this week to Epic practices
• Remember the deadline for PQRS submission is the end of February