Latest news from MRC Billing http://mrcbilling.com Copyright © 2011 Medical Reimbursement Consultants Article ID 14 at MRC Billing Sat, 21 May 2011 00:00:00 EDT We just finished our agreement with SyMed for their OneApp software for provider credentialing. This is will allow us to easily help all of our clients with their insurance enrollment. We provide these services for all of our billing service clients. OneApp Pro Benefits OneApp eliminates multiple data entry and enables us to enter our client's data ONE time to be filled out on any application or form… When a new provider (ABA, SLP, OT) joins the group. When you add new health plans. When it is time for all of your providers’ annual renewals. Any other time there is a request for immediate, accurate information about your physicians or other professionals. OneApp eliminates manual errors and greatly reduces the time spent on printing, faxing and follow up. It saves your physician organization time & money by eliminating manual processes and redundant tasks. It also increases your reimbursement cash flow and eliminates receivables by speeding the enrollment process and ensuring accuracy of the information. OneApp Pro Features Centralize your provider information into one database for your practice . We will scan any paper documents, certificates, diplomas or supporting information for quick access. Fill out applications, forms or letters in a matter of seconds versus hours for our clients. MRC will manage and track your credentialing status and set alerts when new credentialing applications are needed. http://mrcbilling.com/blog.php Article ID 3 at MRC Billing Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00:00 EDT MRC will be attending and exhibiting at the National ABAI meeting in Denver Colorado this year. 37th Annual Convention May 27 - 31, 2011 Colorado Convention Center, Denver, Colorado Call for Papers Open: August 10, 2010 Call for Papers Deadline: October 13, 2010 Registration Open: September 1, 2010 Early Registration Deadline: February 23, 2011 Pre-Registration Deadline: April 29, 2011 http://mrcbilling.com/blog.php Article ID 13 at MRC Billing Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 EDT Tune in, Tuesday May 10 at approximately 8 am EDT to the TODAY show on NBC, for a discussion of the first comprehensive study of autism prevalence using a total population sample, conducted by an international team of investigators from the U.S., South Korea, and Canada. This study estimated the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in South Korea to be 2.64%, or approximately 1 in 38 children, and concluded that autism prevalence estimates worldwide may increase when this approach is used to identify children with ASD. http://mrcbilling.com/blog.php Article ID 12 at MRC Billing Fri, 06 May 2011 00:00:00 EDT There is a lot of research on autism out there. Autism Speaks and many other funding agencies have supported hundreds of millions of research dollars aimed at understanding the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of this highly prevalent disorder. While the findings and number of research publications continue to grow, new questions are arising at an even faster pace. Arguably one of the most important questions to families affected by autism is how these findings can make a difference in the life of their children today? There is an area of research that is particularly focused on answering this question, but it is surprisingly under-investigated and underfunded in autism to date. Dissemination research is designed to take relevant scientific findings and apply them to real world practice. So how can we turn research data into meaningful and effective treatments? For the first time ever, Autism Speaks will launch a funding mechanism specifically designed to support research on disseminating empirically validated autism diagnostic and treatment approaches to families with currently limited access to these services in the US and around the world. Among underserved populations, especially in low-resource settings, major barriers to improving the health and well-being of children and families touched by autism are the lack of trained professionals and culturally-sensitive clinical services. Perhaps not surprisingly, much autism research has been conducted in high-income countries and among populations with generally greater access to autism services. Currently very little information is available to guide service practices in the developing world as well as among underserved populations in high-income countries. So, more research in low-resource and under-served communities is needed. Without innovative health care programs, early detection and early intervention will remain extremely limited among the poor and many ethnic minority groups. Culturally appropriate, scalable, cost-effective, and sustainable methods of service delivery are necessary but typically do not exist in these settings. For example, new and promising research is beginning to show that parents of children with autism can act as co-therapists to deliver behavioral intervention in the home and have beneficial impact on their child’s outcomes. This idea of having community health providers with less training and qualifications than specialists, including family members, deliver services can help bridge the critical gap in communities with limited access to early detection and intervention services. Autism Speaks’ Global Autism Public Health initiative (GAPH) strives to develop and implement meaningful programs for enhancing autism awareness, research, and health services for underserved communities around the world. As part of the GAPH initiative, Autism Speaks is currently accepting research grant applications that develop and pilot test scalable, community-based, culturally-sensitive autism detection and early intervention programs among underserved communities in the United States and internationally. http://mrcbilling.com/blog.php Article ID 10 at MRC Billing Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EDT By M.P. MCQUEEN As diagnoses of autism rise, a growing number of families are grappling with the worry and expense of finding treatment and special education for children with the complex developmental disorder. And many are pressing employers and legislators for help. An estimated one in 110 children is diagnosed with autism in the U.S., and its prevalence is increasing for reasons that aren't well understood, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Average medical expenditures for those with autism-spectrum disorders exceed those without by $4,110 to $6,200 per year, the CDC states. In response, at least 23 states, including Indiana, South Carolina, Arizona and Massachusetts, have passed laws in the last few years requiring state-regulated group health plans to include autism coverage, according to the National Council of State Legislatures, though many states have caps on the mandates. Most other states and Washington, D.C., have similar bills pending, according to Autism Speaks, an advocacy group. Only Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming don't have bills requiring autism coverage on their agendas. In addition, federal law now prohibits insurance companies from refusing to issue or renew health-insurance coverage for children because of pre-existing conditions, including autism. The state laws don't apply to benefit plans employers fund themselves. Self-funded plans are regulated by a federal statute, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA. A growing number of self-funded companies, however, are providing more health benefits for autism, often in response to demands from employees or to harmonize with state laws, says Judith Ursitti, regional director of state advocacy relations for Autism Speaks. Microsoft offers comprehensive benefits for autism. And at least 20 other major companies with self-funded plans say they provide at least some coverage for treatment of autism -- most often speech and occupational therapy -- including Home Depot, consultant Deloitte & Touche and drug maker Eli Lilly. "They are seeing this is a more mainstream thing to do, a competitive benefit that they need to provide for employees," Ms. Ursitti says. Terri Fields of Sunnyvale, Calif., says her husband's employer health plan is helping to cover applied behavior analysis therapy, which many advocates and medical groups regard as a standard treatment protocol, for their 7-year-old son. He was diagnosed with autism when he was 18 months old. A previous employer didn't cover it, and reimbursement for other therapies it did cover was difficult to obtain, she says. Some insurers consider ABA experimental or not medically necessary. A sample therapy program of ABA can cost more than $60,000 per year, experts say. Today, Ms. Fields's son is "progressing nicely now that he is getting optimal treatment," and the family is saving thousands of dollars a year. Ms. Fields, a 42-year-old high-tech operations manager for a networking company, says the benefits from her husband's employer have made a huge difference. "It is saving money, the time and the emotional energy. It is [like] night and day and I can't put a dollar value on that." For more information on autism and treatment, go to the site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cdc.gov, as well as autismspeaks.org. http://mrcbilling.com/blog.php Article ID 8 at MRC Billing Sun, 27 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST TxABA meeting in Galveston was well attended and offered a variety of educational sessions. There were several exhibitors offering products and services specifically for ABA providers. The timing for the meeting was perfect, the Galveston Island 100th year celebration of Marti Gras started Friday. The convention center was right on the front row so everyone got to watch the kick-off Marti Gras Parade. They had a total of 18 parades and 27 Concerts planned for the next four days. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth and we are looking forward to working with the membership of the TxABA. http://mrcbilling.com/blog.php Article ID 7 at MRC Billing Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST We would like to thank Scared Rabbit for our great new website. They were able to incorporate all of our ideas into a very informative and functional website. As we continue to focus on the ABA community, we wanted our website to reflect our dedication to helping children with behavioral and learning differences. The website created by Scared Rabbit presents our services and the help we can bring to Behavioral Analysts. It allows us to interact with all of our clients and potential clients effectively. Thank you Scared Rabbit http://mrcbilling.com/blog.php Article ID 6 at MRC Billing Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST MRC has been asked to speak at the Annual Autism Update conference. It will be held at Sheraton Four Points; Rte1, Norwood, MA on April 7, 2011. Kim Allbaugh will be speaking on Behavioral Analysts becoming healthcare providers and billing insurance. http://mrcbilling.com/blog.php Article ID 9 at MRC Billing Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST Congratulations to everyone who help implement this reform and to the Virginia General Assembly for approving it. SB 1062 signed by Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling as President of the Senate. The bill is sent to the Governor to be signed into law. http://mrcbilling.com/blog.php Article ID 5 at MRC Billing Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST NEW YORK, NY (February 17, 2011) -- Autism Speaks today joined Virginia families, the Virginia Autism Project, and other autism advocacy organizations in applauding the members of the Virginia General Assembly for their passage of Senate Bill 1062 and House Bill 2467, which require insurance companies to provide coverage of evidence-based autism therapies, such as applied behavior analysis (ABA). After crossing over for consideration by the opposite chamber, both bills have been passed and will now head to Governor Robert McDonnell's desk for enactment into law. If enacted, SB 1062, sponsored in the Senate by State Senator Janet Howell (District 32), and HB 2467, sponsored in the House by Delegates Tag Greason (District 32) and Tim Hugo (District 40), will require insurance coverage of autism therapies for children between the ages of 2 and 6. This is a critical period for administering early intensive intervention therapies for a child with autism. "Autism Speaks applauds the members of the General Assembly for listening to Virginia's families and passing SB 1062 and HB 2467, which will extend a helping hand to families that have been financially devastated by the lack of insurance coverage for necessary autism therapies," said Peter Bell, Autism Speaks executive vice president of programs and services. "We are grateful for the leadership of Senator Howell, Senate Majority Leader Saslaw, Delegate Greason, Delegate Hugo, and Speaker Howell on this issue and now call on Governor McDonnell to sign these bills into law, allowing Virginia to become the first state in 2011 join the ranks of states that have recognized the unfair and unreasonable burden being imposed on families of children with autism." To date, twenty-three states - Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin - have enacted autism insurance reform legislation. Several other state legislatures will introduce similar legislation during the current 2011 session. We are grateful to our patrons in the House and Senate for leading us down the path to passage by the legislature, said Virginia Chapter Advocacy Chair Theresa Champion. We hope the Governor will endorse our bill without any changes! http://mrcbilling.com/blog.php Article ID 4 at MRC Billing Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST MRC will be attending the Regional Conference at Galveston Island Texas. Below is the schedule Friday, February 25, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7:00 - 9:00 am Check-in and on-site registration 9:00 - 11:50 pm Morning Workshops (lunch provided) 1:30 - 4:20 pm Afternoon session 5:00 - 7:00 pm Poster Session 7:00 - 9:00 pm Social hosted by UHCL ABASO Saturday, February 26th, 2011: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8:00 - 9:00 am Check-in and on-site registration 9:00 - 9:20 am Presidential Address: Gordon Bourland 9:30 - 12:20 pm Morning Presentations (lunch on your own) 2:00 - 3:50 pm Afternoon Presentations 4:00 - 4:50 pm Special Presentation by Dick Malott 5:00 - 6:00 pm Business Meeting 7 pm - 12 am 25th Anniversary Dinner and Celebration!* *Dinner subsidized by TxABA to show appreciation for our members Sunday, February 27th, 2011: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 - 9:50 am Special Presentation Dick Malott, Incoming president of ABAI 10 - 11:50 am Panel Discussion History of Behavior Analysis in Texas Presentations on the future of Behavior Analysis in Texas http://mrcbilling.com/blog.php