Why Medicare Advantage Denials for Patients with Two Midnights Still Exist
It has nearly been six months since 42 CFR 422.101(b)(2) within the Code of Federal Regulations was officially set into motion on Jan. 1, obligating
It has nearly been six months since 42 CFR 422.101(b)(2) within the Code of Federal Regulations was officially set into motion on Jan. 1, obligating
Let’s start with a recent court case. SCAN health plan, a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan, recently sued Medicare because their star rating dropped from 4.5
Most U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations do not end up in court. Defendants who lose a civil case risk large fines and penalties, while
Today I’ll be covering another cornucopia of topics. First, last week’s issue of Report on Medicare Compliance by Nina Youngstrom had a very interesting article
Last week I wrote about the lack of adoption of the new evaluation and management (E&M) coding rules by physicians and urged all of you
Last week was the National Physician Advisor Conference, and I want to thank all of those who stopped me and noted how useful they find
Who would have thought that after 10 years, there would still be so much talk about the Two-Midnight Rule? And perhaps there would not be,
As we have done for the past few weeks now, we start with news about Medicare Advantage (MA). Last week, the Centers for Medicare &
Have you heard that the Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are required to follow the provisions of the Two-Midnight Rule, as of Jan. 1? Well, they
Well, we are only three weeks into the year, so three weeks into the applicability of the Two-Midnight Rule to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, but
The Two-Midnight Rule was first announced 10 years ago. So, how is it possible that as we approach the tenth anniversary of its implementation, it
EDITOR’S NOTE: For newer readers who might be wondering what the heck those are, back in 2015, when Dr. Ronald Hirsch didn’t have a topic

Get clear, practical answers to Medicare’s most confusing regulations. Join Dr. Ronald Hirsch as he breaks down real-world compliance challenges and shares guidance your team can apply right away.

Federal auditors are zeroing in on Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) and hospital rehab unit services, with OIG and CERT audits leading to millions in penalties—often due to documentation and administrative errors, not quality of care. Join compliance expert Michael Calahan, PA, MBA, to learn the five clinical “pillars” of IRF-PPS admissions, key documentation requirements, and real-life case lessons to help protect your revenue.

During this essential RACmonitor webcast Michael Calahan, PA, MBA Certified Compliance Officer, will clarify the rules, dispel common misconceptions, and equip you with practical strategies to code, document, and bill high-risk split/shared, incident-to & critical care E/M services with confidence. Don’t let audit risks or revenue losses catch your organization off guard — learn exactly what federal auditors are looking for and how to ensure your documentation and reporting stand up to scrutiny.

Learn how to navigate the proposed elimination of the Inpatient-Only list. Gain strategies to assess admission status, avoid denials, protect compliance, and address impacts across Medicare and non-Medicare payors. Essential insights for hospitals.

Accurately determining the principal diagnosis is critical for compliant billing, appropriate reimbursement, and valid quality reporting — yet it remains one of the most subjective and error-prone areas in inpatient coding. In this expert-led session, Cheryl Ericson, RN, MS, CCDS, CDIP, demystifies the complexities of principal diagnosis assignment, bridging the gap between coding rules and clinical reality. Learn how to strengthen your organization’s coding accuracy, reduce denials, and ensure your documentation supports true medical necessity.

Denials continue to delay reimbursement, increase administrative burden, and threaten financial stability across healthcare organizations. This essential webcast tackles the root causes—rising payer scrutiny, fragmented workflows, inconsistent documentation, and underused analytics—and offers proven, data-driven strategies to prevent and overturn denials. Attendees will gain practical tools to strengthen documentation and coding accuracy, engage clinicians effectively, and leverage predictive analytics and AI to identify risks before they impact revenue. Through real-world case examples and actionable guidance, this session empowers coding, CDI, and revenue cycle professionals to shift from reactive appeals to proactive denial prevention and revenue protection.

Sepsis remains one of the most frequently denied and contested diagnoses, creating costly revenue loss and compliance risks. In this webcast, Angela Comfort, DBA, MBA, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, provides practical, real-world strategies to align documentation with coding guidelines, reconcile Sepsis-2 and Sepsis-3 definitions, and apply compliant queries. You’ll learn how to identify and address documentation gaps, strengthen provider engagement, and defend diagnoses against payer scrutiny—equipping you to protect reimbursement, improve SOI/ROM capture, and reduce audit vulnerability in this high-risk area.

Only ICD10monitor delivers what you need: updates on must-know changes associated with the FY26 IPPS, including new ICD-10-CM/PCS codes, CCs/MCCs, and MS-DRGs, plus insights, analysis and answers to your questions from two of the country’s most respected subject matter experts.
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