The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has a new leader – thanks to the narrowest of margins.
The U.S. Senate voted 50-49 Thursday to approve former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as the nation’s top federal health official, with Democratic Sen. Mazie Horono’s abstention countered by a “yes” vote by GOP Sen. Susan Collins – making her the only Republican senator to vote as such.
“I’m honored and humbled by today’s vote in the Senate. Thank you,” Becerra tweeted not long after the final tally was reached. “I’m ready to get to work at @HHSgov.”
A son of Mexican immigrants, Becerra, who was California’s first Hispanic Attorney General, will become the nation’s first Hispanic HHS Secretary.
In addition to serving as California’s top law-enforcement official, Becerra also previously spent 12 terms in Congress as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving a Los Angeles-area district and ascending to Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. He also served one term in the California Legislature before being sworn in as California Attorney General in 2017.
Congressional Republicans largely contended that Becerra lacked the necessary experience in healthcare for his new role – a claim countered by Democrats who noted that they had no issues approving a former pharmaceutical executive, Alex Azar, to fill the position under former President Trump.
Becerra’s top priority will doubtlessly be addressing the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, which has sickened more than 120 million people worldwide, killing 2.67 million – including more than 30 million cases and nearly 550,000 deaths in the U.S. alone.
Navigating interventional radiology (IR) pain management coding can be complex and challenging. Coders across the nation frequently encounter errors due to the intricate details involved,
Well, I gave you all a break from my criticism of insurance company policies and ploys last week, and I had planned to go for
Please log in to your account to comment on this article.
Join Beth Wolf, MD, CPC, CCDS, for an in-depth webcast on the FY2025 spinal fusion MS-DRG updates. Discover key changes in DRG classification, understand impacts on documentation and CMI, and learn strategies to ensure compliance.
Join Angela Comfort, DBA, MBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, as she presents effective strategies to strengthen collaboration between CDI, coding, and quality departments in acute care hospitals. Angela will also share guidance on implementing cross-departmental meetings, using shared KPIs, and engaging leadership to foster a culture of collaboration. Attendees will gain actionable tools to optimize documentation accuracy, elevate quality metrics, and drive a unified approach to healthcare goals, ultimately enhancing both patient outcomes and organizational performance.
Optimize your outpatient clinical documentation and gain comprehensive knowledge from foundational practices to advanced technologies, ensuring improved patient care and organizational and financial success. This webcast bundle provides a holistic approach to outpatient CDI, empowering you to implement best practices from the ground up and leverage advanced strategies for superior results. You will gain actionable insights to improve documentation quality, patient care, compliance, and financial outcomes.
Enhancing outpatient clinical documentation is crucial for maintaining accuracy, compliance, and proper reimbursement in today’s complex healthcare environment. This webcast, presented by industry expert Angela Comfort, DBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, will provide you with actionable strategies to tackle complex challenges in outpatient documentation. You’ll learn how to craft detailed clinical narratives, utilize advanced EHR features, and implement accurate risk adjustment and HCC coding. The session also covers essential regulatory updates to keep your documentation practices compliant. Join us to gain the tools you need to improve documentation quality, support better patient care, and ensure financial integrity.
Dr. Ronald Hirsch provides critical details on the new Medicare Appeal Process for Status Changes for patients whose status changes during their hospital stay. He also delves into other scenarios of hospital patients receiving custodial care or medically unnecessary services where patient notifications may be needed along with the processes necessary to ensure compliance with state and federal guidance.
Healthcare organizations face complex regulatory requirements under the No Surprises Act and Price Transparency rules. These policies mandate extensive fee disclosures across settings, and confusion is widespread—many hospitals remain unaware they must post every contracted rate. Non-compliance could lead to costly penalties, financial loss, and legal risks. Join David M. Glaser Esq. as he shows you how to navigate these regulations effectively.
Protect your facility from unwanted audits! Join Becky Jacobsen, BSN, RN, MBS, CCS-P, CPC, CPEDC, CBCS, CEMC, and take a deep dive into both the CMS and AMA guidelines for reporting post operative pain blocks. You’ll learn how to determine if the nerve block is separately codable with real life examples for better understanding. Becky will also cover how to evaluate whether documentation supports medical necessity, offer recommendations for stronger documentation practices, and provide guidance on educating providers about documentation requirements. She’ll include a discussion of appropriate modifier and diagnosis coding assignment so that you can be confident that your billing of post operative pain blocks is fully supported and compliant.
During this RACmonitor webcast Dr. Ronald Hirsch spotlights the areas of the OIG’s Work Plan and the findings of their most recent audits that impact utilization review, case management, and audit staff. He also provides his common-sense interpretation of the prevailing regulations related to those target issues. You’ll walk away better equipped with strategies to put in place immediately to reduce your risk of paybacks, increased scrutiny, and criminal penalties.
Copyright © 2024 RACmonitor. Powered by MedLearn Media.
Happy National Doctor’s Day! Learn how to get a complimentary webcast on ‘Decoding Social Admissions’ as a token of our heartfelt appreciation! Click here to learn more →
