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Tag Archives: Compliance

  1. Claim Reviews Empower Better Decisions By Putting Critical Information In Hand March 30, 2011

    Posted in Best Practices, Claims Auditing, Compliance, Due Diligence, SPOT on Ops.

    Insurance is as much about having the right information at the right time as anything. Whether it’s an underwriting choice to price a risk correctly or a claim decision as to when to a play a claim, having the best data available can make or break an organization. Despite this fact, many organizations fail to take advantage of tools and rights available to them prior to making critical business decisions. Claim reviews are empowering tools to help make better decisions. Staying ahead of the competition and managing risk is a key component of any any successful organization. The claims review allow decision makers to have the most available data to make better decisions. In this weeks post we discuss 8 reason when they should be done and speak to going beyond the claim files to fully understand the substance behind the numbers.

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  2. Here We Go Again! CMS Postpones Deadline For P&C Mandatory Reporting Until January 1, 2012 December 14, 2010

    Posted in Medicare Secondary Payer, SPOT on Ops.

    For the second time the government has postponed the mandatory reporting requirements for carriers. The complex nature of reporting and several unanswered questions surrounding implementation and enforcement seems to have prompted the change. The costs associated to comply as well as the risk for improper or failure to comply has resulted in a new insurance product to protect those entities from liability due breakdowns in the reporting procedures. Learn more in the latest from the Claims SPOT.

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  3. There Is No Such Thing As A Pro Forma Signature On A Document – If You Sign It You Own It October 6, 2010

    Posted in Best Practices, Compliance, SPOT on Issues, SPOT on Ops.

    Doing things for the sake of doing things can have significant adverse consequences for an organization. It is important to realize that one day you may have to answer for every action you take on a claim file. The concept of how doing a pro forma task can come back to bite you is being highlighted as a yet another fallout of the mortgage crisis. Tens of thousands of foreclosures are being halted because of a process in place where an individual just signed hundreds of documents without ensuring the information contained on the documents were correct.

    Clearly, doing something for the sake of doing something can really have negative consequences for the organization. In our latest post we offer questions to ask when signing documents. Controls are important, however, if they are not adding value they should be reviewed.

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  4. Quick SPOT: 6 Security Tips To Keep Portable Technology Safe For Claims August 27, 2010

    Posted in Claims Technology, Due Diligence, SPOT on Ops.

    If you are like me you keep everything on your laptop and cell phone. Numbers, corporate information, claims data, and even some of the dreaded non-private personal information of others. Claims data is filled with information that if lost or stolen could be detrimental to both the company and the individual. Many companies today issue corporate cell phones and blackberry devices as well as laptop computes in place of desktops. It’s a modern world and we are all expected to be connected. Partial work at home arrangements also mean this information is traveling from location to location which can increase the risk that things may be lost or stolen.

    Take a look at these suggestions to help keep your claim information safe and secure in the latest post from the Claims SPOT.

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  5. Medicare Secondary Payer Allows Direct Data Entry For Small Reporters Of Claims June 2, 2010

    Posted in Medicare Secondary Payer, SPOT on Ops.

    A new change to the Medicare Secondary Payer reporting will allow those entities with a small number of reports the ability to key in individual claims. This will alleviate the need to create, test and manage a data feed. While not without limitations, the news should help those smaller reporting entities that had been struggling with the onerous requirements. The method is limited to those reports that have less than 500 reportable events in a year. Read more about the changes in today’s post.

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  6. Medicare Secondary Payer Enhancement Act Being Introduced in Congress Could Address Many Concerns of Section 111 Reporting March 23, 2010

    Posted in Medicare Secondary Payer, SPOT on Ops.

    Dealing with MSP Can Feel Like Walking Into a Maze The Medicare Secondary Payer Enhancement Act of 2010 (HR 4796) is a new piece of bi-partisan legislation introduced on March 9, 2010. It is designed to streamline Medicare Secondary Payer reporting and provide some finality for insurers required to reimburse Medicare for “conditional payments” of […]

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  7. 7 Considerations When Drafting Claims Guidelines March 1, 2010

    Posted in Best Practices, Compliance, SPOT on Issues, SPOT on Ops.

    Claims departments employ professionals that want to do a good job for policy holders as well as the company, and claims guidelines should help foster those goals. Before drafting guidelines there are a few things that should be considered and we, along with our fellow blogger Phil Loree, suggest 7 things a company should consider when drafting claims guidelines.

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  8. Important Update: Medicare Secondary Payer changes production date to January 1, 2011 February 18, 2010

    Posted in Medicare Secondary Payer, SPOT on Issues, SPOT on Ops.

    The Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS) have announced the following: CMS advises all NGHP RREs that the date for first production NGHP Input Files is changed from April 1, 2010 to January 1, 2011, effective immediately. Read the complete announcement at the CMS website in “What’s New.” This is clearly a welcome change and one […]

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  9. 5 Claims issues cited for non-compliance on market conduct exams & 3 tools to avoid them February 15, 2010

    Posted in Best Practices, Compliance, SPOT on Issues, SPOT on Ops.

    Insurance Market Conduct examinations are a regular part of the insurance business. Besides the stress of the exam itself, being cited for violations can result in costly fines. Regardless, many citations can be avoided. Every year, insurance compliance solutions provider Walters Kluwer releases its annual study of top ten reasons insurance companies are found to […]

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  10. Warning – Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP): Government sends strong message and goes after non-compliance February 3, 2010

    Posted in Medicare Secondary Payer, SPOT on Ops.

    If you are an insurance company or self-insured, and make payments on liability or workers’ compensation claims, be aware that the Federal Government has filed a lawsuit signaling their intent to be aggressive in seeking reimbursement. As reported in Business Insurance, this “case breaks new ground because CMS simultaneously named insurers, settlement beneficiaries and plaintiffs attorneys all in one lawsuit.” This case should alert all that if you make a payment on an injury claim, and fail to let the Government know about money they should be collecting, they will come after you.

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