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States ranked by percentage of population fully vaccinated: Nov. 10

By Katie Adams for Becker’s Hospital Review Vermont has the highest percentage of its population fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration data tracker. The CDC’s data tracker compiles data from healthcare facilities and public health authorities. It updates daily to report the total number of people in each state who…

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The era of surprise medical bills may be ending

By for Annie Nova for CNBC KEY POINTS The No Surprises Act, which takes effect in 2022, will greatly reduce the number of unanticipated out-of-network medical bills that many people are hit with during emergency medical treatment. “These bills are really the epitome of lack of choice combined with high prices that people experience every…

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CMS penalizes 2,499 hospitals for high readmissions: 5 things to know

By Ayla Ellison for Becker’s Hospital Review In fiscal year 2022, CMS will penalize 2,499 hospitals for having too many Medicare patients readmitted within 30 days, according to federal data analyzed by Kaiser Health News. This is the 10th year of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. To determine penalties for fiscal year 2022, CMS used patient…

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Urology Coding Q&A: Can you explain the difference and appropriate use of modifier -57 vs -25?

By Jonathan Rubenstein, MD, Mark Painter for Urology Times “As always, document well and use the modifiers when appropriate,” advise Jonathan Rubenstein, MD, and Mark Painter. Can you explain the difference and appropriate use of modifier -57 vs -25? Although this may seem like a basic question for many coders, some do not fully understand the difference…

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Average charge for COVID-19 hospitalization, by state

By Alia Paavola for Becker’s Hospital Review The cost of a complex and noncomplex COVID-19 hospitalization in each state varies, according to a new interactive map from Fair Health, an independent nonprofit focused on enhancing price transparency in healthcare. To determine the average cost of both a complex and noncomplex COVID-19 hospitalization across states, Fair Health used…

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CMS unveils billing codes for J&J, Moderna COVID-19 booster doses

Alia Paavola for Becker’s Hospital Review CMS unveiled Medicare Part B billing codes and payment allowances for administering booster doses of the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine for COVID-19. The FDA authorized booster doses for eligible adults Oct. 20 and unveiled the codes two days later. The doses must be available without cost sharing for Medicare,…

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The US’s pandemic era is phasing out. Here’s what that means

Erica Carbajal for Becker’s Hospital Review CDC models predict the nation’s daily COVID-19 cases will drop about 20 percent by Nov. 13, perhaps an early signal of the beginning of the end of COVID-19’s pandemic-level status. The seven-day average for COVID-19 cases has declined for five consecutive weeks, reaching 73,079 as of Oct. 22, CDC data shows. After 19…

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How hospitals can use Z codes to track social determinants of health

Georgina Gonzalez for Becker’s Hospital Review Z codes, which are ICD-10-CM codes used to identify non-medical factors that may affect a patient’s health status, are a useful way to track social determinants of health and capture standardized data for Medicare beneficiaries. However, they are underused, with Z codes reported from only 1.59 percent of beneficiaries…

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