House Bill 18-1282 requires newly enrolling and currently enrolled Organization Health Care providers (not individuals) to obtain and use a unique National Provider Identifier (NPI) for each service location and provider type enrolled in the Colorado interChange. The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing is responsible for implementing Section 3 of HB 18-1282, which added 25.5-4-419 to the Colorado Revised Statutes. View the Colorado NPI Draft Regulations here. For additional resources and information, visit the Colorado NPI Law webpage, featuring the Colorado NPI Law Webinar, Frequently Asked Questions, and fact sheet. 

Telligen is offering their "My Diabetes Yearly Passport" at no cost to health care providers who would like to share it with their patients with diabetes or prediabetes. It can be used to record personal health care information, track medications and set health-related goals. There's a blood glucose log, diabetes tests chart and food journal. Patients can be encouraged to bring their Diabetes Passport to all medical appointments to ensure they are communicating all information related to their diabetes self-management. Find more information here.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General is alerting the public about a fraud scheme involving genetic testing. Scammers are offering Medicare beneficiaries cheek swabs for genetic testing to obtain their Medicare information for identity theft or fraudulent billing purposes. Fraudsters are targeting beneficiaries through telemarketing calls, booths at public events, health fairs, and door-to-door visits. If a beneficiary agrees to genetic testing or verifies personal or Medicare information, a testing kit is sent even if it is not ordered by a physician or medically necessary. Read more here about how to warn your patient and what to do if fraud is suspected.

CMS has collaborated with legal experts to provide more information on two new laws passed this year by the Colorado General Assembly. The Colorado Candor Act establishes a voluntary framework for health care providers and facilities to offer compassionate, honest, timely and thorough responses to patients who experience an adverse health care incident. It takes effect July 1. Read the primer here. The new out-of-network law sets billing parameters and requirements for OON services provided at an in-network facility. Read the OON overview here.

Many providers are using the new Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) for Medicare transactions. For the week ending June 14, providers submitted 75 percent of fee-for-service claims with the MBI. Help protect your patient’s personal identity by using their MBI for Medicare business, including claims submission and eligibility transactions. Here is how you are using the MBI on claims:

For more information, review this MLN Matters Article about getting and using the MBI.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking new ideas from the public on how to continue the progress of the Patients over Paperwork initiative. Since launching in fall 2017, Patients over Paperwork has streamlined regulations to significantly cut the “red tape” that weighs down the health care system and takes clinicians away from their primary mission of caring for patients. As of January 2019, CMS estimates that through regulatory reform alone, the health care system will save an estimated 40 million hours and $5.7 billion through 2021. Read more here.

While connecting military veterans in eastern Colorado with community resources to improve their health and wellness, Stacy K. Syphers, a veteran health connector (VHC), is giving primary care providers this tip: Ask patients if they’re veterans, which can influence health in myriad ways. That one question could help care teams identify the source of a health issue more quickly and ensure better outcomes and the reduction of unnecessary costs, says Syphers, whose work is funded by the Colorado State Innovation Model, and talks about her work in the latest episode of the SIM podcast series, Innovation Insights. Click here to listen.