The NYSCA Officers thank the insurance committee for their work in continuing this conversation and assisting in bringing more options to New York's chiropractors and chiropractic patients.  Updates to the United HealthCare policies allowing chiropractors to utilize telemedicine services to care for their patients is below.

During the COVID-19 crisis, telemedicine and telehealth services will allow you to continue to care for your patients from a distance.  The NYSCA Insurance Committee continues to interact with various NYS offices, commercial carriers and TPAs to discuss and seek their guidelines relative to the application and coverage of telemedicine services for doctors of chiropractic.

As we in New York begin to experience the exponential surge of COVID-19, members are questioning how they can care for their patients. Some offices remain open as part of essential services, while others have decided to close because of the risk factors. Geography and patient population seem to be the biggest determinants in this professional choice.

NYSCA members have been asking, "Does the WC amendment allowing temporary performance of telemedicine services during Covid-19 extend to No Fault?"  

Telemedicine and telehealth services are currently being reviewed and discussed by the state board for chiropractic.  However, you may currently perform telemedicine for injured workers in need of timely help.

NYSCA Members have reported that a few workers compensation carriers have failed to properly update their fee schedules based on the January 1, 2020 update.  As you know, these changes for parity were needed and overdue.  The Workers Compensation Committee continues to act on your behalf to make necessary changes. 

UnitedHealthcare will require the use of a 'GP' modifier for all billed physical medicine services effective 04/01/2020. 

In order to increase health care provider participation in the workers' compensation system and improve injured workers' access to timely, quality medical care, the Workers' Compensation Board (Board) is supporting electronic submission of CMS-1500 forms, along with a medical narrative. The CMS-1500 streamlines medical billing and may reduce the paperwork requirements currently in the workers' compensation system.

To further assist medical providers in the implementation of the CMS-1500 for workers’ compensation patients, the Board has created a medical narrative report template that can be used to create the medical narrative that must accompany all CMS-1500 submissions.

In response to the CMS call for Feedback on Scope of Practice, the NYSCA has submitted the following:  

The NYSCA Workers' Compensation Committee has received numerous calls from our members regarding the revised 1/1/2020 Workers' Compensation Chiropractic Fee Schedule.  A fair amount of misinformation is being communicated, particularly in the downstate region, resulting in confusion in the application of the 1/1/2020 Schedule.

The NYSCA has been in contact with the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) regarding possible changes to Medicare as outlined in the following letter from National Government Services.

Have you received a request for documentation from a Medicare contractor but not sure if your records comply? We understand the challenges Doctors of Chiropractic face when determining what to include in responding to a request for medical records. The A/B Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) partnered together to create this job aid to help you properly respond to these requests.

Download the Job Aid from CMS.gov

The New York State Chiropractic Association (NYSCA) and New York Chiropractic Council have been actively working with the New York State Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) to achieve parity in the system for services provided by Doctors of Chiropractic in New York State.

Please be advised that the proposed increase to the chiropractic conversion factor will be going into effect on January 1, 2020 as anticipated. This change recognizes the need for parity in the Workers Compensation system and represents a positive step forward in the recognition of the value of chiropractic care. We appreciate the willingness of the WCB to address this issue.

National Government Services (the Medicare contractor for our region) is offering a seminar on Medicare billing to providers on Wed, Dec 18, 2019 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM EST.  You may sign up by following the link below:

Please note the following notification from American Specialty Health (ASH) relative to employees of Suffolk County.

Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed and released a Medicare Documentation Job Aid to assist chiropractors in responding to medical records requests, medical necessity documentation, and corrective treatment documentation. These PDF downloads are available on the CMS.gov website. 

Click here to learn more

Through the hard work of the NYSCA, the New York State Workers Compensation Board (WCB) is proposing to change the chiropractic conversion factor, creating parity for the first time since our inclusion in workers' compensation for doctors of chiropractic. The disparity in the conversion factor has been a priority of the joint efforts from NYSCA and the Council. Working together, and working with the WCB, positive change is coming.