Dear ABC Code Set Registrant:
We are pleased to provide an update on the commercial use of ABC codes
and apologize that we did not get in touch with you sooner.
Over the past 12 months, we have been working diligently with leading
health industry organizations in the public and private sectors to ensure
they had the knowledge and tools needed to support your use of ABC codes.
Some of these are addressed below.
We have also been working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) to ensure that all of your business partners have rights
to use the codes in their business transactions with you.
HHS has confirmed that anyone can use ABC codes in research, management
and manual commerce (cash pay and paper-based insurance claims), since
these uses are unregulated and beyond the scope of the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). For information on how
integrative healthcare practitioners are using ABC codes in these
applications, please
click here.
HHS has also verified that you and your business partners may use ABC
codes in HIPAA transactions (i.e., electronic commerce) even if your
business partners did not register with us. For more information about
this, please
click here.
Please note that HHS authorization to bill using an ABC, CPT or HCPCS
Level II code does not guarantee insurance coverage and reimbursement
for the corresponding care. Coding, coverage and reimbursement policies
vary among health plans and may be verified directly with each health
plan in advance of care delivery and claims submission.
The number of published articles about ABC codes in trade journals is
increasing, especially in those journals that target integrative healthcare
practitioners and/or address health insurance benefit design. To keep
current on these articles, please
click here.
The number of organizations that have publicly disclosed their use or
planned deployment of ABC codes is also growing. Among these organizations
are the following:
We anticipate that, in 2004 and early 2005, many more large organizations
will begin to support claims that incorporate ABC codes, including additional
Medicaid programs, top commercial health plans, large self-funded employer
groups and numerous regional/specialty health plans. We will keep you informed
as additional entities make announcements of their ABC coding initiatives.
The following resources will allow you to benefit from ABC codes in your own
operations and also support you in doing business with those who require their
trading partners to use the codes:
- ABC Coding Manual for Integrative Healthcare
- Practitioner's Guide to Billable Interventions Using ABC Codes
- Superbill for Integrative Healthcare
- ABC Codes and Terminology (as an ASCII Data File)
- Relative Values for Integrative Healthcare Using ABC Codes
To learn more about these resources or to place an order, please
click here.
We are committed to keeping you informed about organizations
that are using ABC codes and that are seeking new trading
partners. For example, Integrative Medicine Network (IMN) recently
notified us that they are seeking qualified integrative healthcare
practitioners to join their preferred provider organization. IMN
provides training and tools to help these practitioners use ABC
codes in support of a broad range of clients, including a Fortune
200 employer that has employees in every state. Please contact IMN
at
info@integrativemedicinenetworks.com
for more information.
We are also committed to keeping you informed about the results of
research we are conducting on the cost-benefit of ABC codes in a
broad range of applications. These results will be posted on our web
site (
www.ABCcodes.com)
and will be brought to your attention in future communications.
We invite you to share this message with your associates so they are
kept informed of the benefits and growing use of ABC codes. You may
also direct them to
www.ABCcodes.com.
If you have any questions or comments about ABC codes or this
message, please email
UserRegistration@ABCcodes.com.
We anticipate a high volume of emails. We will respond to you as
quickly as possible.
