DCH-i [Vol. 2, no. 5 (June 2013)]

June 2013 Volume 2, Issue 5

Medicaid Update -Public Meetings to be Held June 24 and 25
Public meetings will be held on Monday, June 24, (Macon) and Tuesday, June 25, (Atlanta) to solicit comments regarding the proposed move of children in Foster Care and Adoption Assistance to a riskbased care management program.
Here are the dates and locations for these public meetings:
June 24, 2013, 1 p.m. The Professional Licensing Boards
237 Coliseum Drive Exam Room, Building B
Macon, GA 31217
June 25, 2013, 1 p.m. Georgia Department Community Health
2 Peachtree Street 5th Floor Board Room
Atlanta, GA 30303
As a courtesy, the state is also making teleconference access available for the June 25, 2013, meeting. Please see the DCH website at http://dch.georgia.gov/public-notices for dial-in information.
In Georgia, an estimated 26,000 children, youth and young adults are in foster care and adoption assistance and, on average, 250 youth are in community residential placements as a result of their involvement with the juvenile justice system (otherwise known as "Demonstration Populations").
These children, youth and young adults in the Demonstration Populations are enrolled in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), PeachCare for Kids. They currently receive services through the state's fee-for-service delivery system. However, due to the complex needs of these individuals, DCH is creating one seamless, integrated delivery system to improve care coordination, access to care, and health outcomes. Once approved, the program will be implemented on or after January 1, 2014.
For more information, visit http://dch.georgia.gov/publicnotices.
Attest Now for ACA Physician Rate Increase

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In This Issue Medicaid Update Attest Now for ACA New Medicaid Providers Credentialing No More Extensions for ICD10 DCH Hosts "DCH Health Matters & You" New Name Announced Physicians Urged to Register for GeorgiaDirect EHR Incentives
About DCH-i
DCH-i is the monthly newsletter from the Georgia Department of Community Health for all matters DCH. It provides timely and important
information to you as physicians, dentists, hospitals,
third-party payers, vendors, health care advocates,
consumers and legislators. Our goal is to help create A
Healthy Georgia -- together. Write us at DCHi@dch.ga.gov.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates a rate increase for certain primary care practitioners from January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2014. The increased rates will be retroactive for services billed on or after January 1, 2013, for providers who attest by July 31, 2013. For providers who attest on August 1, 2013, or after, reimbursement will only be made back to the first of the month in which the provider attested. The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) began the self-attestation process on April 1, 2013, through the Georgia Medicaid Management Information System (GAMMIS) portal at www.mmis.georgia.gov.
Eligible primary care providers include board-certified physicians with a specialty designation of family medicine, general internal medicine and/or pediatric medicine or an associated sub-specialty. If providers do not meet the board-certification requirement, they may be eligible for the rate increase if they self attest that at least 60 percent of their Medicaid billings and services are for evaluation and management (E&M) codes listed in the final rule.
Providers will not need to attest with each Care Management Organization (CMO) separately; DCH will share provider eligibility files with each Medicaid CMO.
Physician extenders, including physician assistants, nurse practitioners and nurse midwives, are also eligible provided they practice under the direct supervision of an eligible physician with professional responsibility for the care provided.
Additional updates and notifications will be posted to the GAMMIS portal and sent to providers and associations. If you have questions, please send them to gapcplus@dch.ga.gov.
New Medicaid Providers: Centralized Credentialing Feature Now Available
Providers enrolling to accept Medicaid patients for the first time will find the process simplified. The Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) activated its improved centralized credentialing feature for new provider applicants on March 29, 2013.
New providers are able to complete a single credentialing application that will enroll them as a Medicaid provider and a credentialed Medicaid provider with DCH's three Care Management Organizations (CMO). Providers still need to complete the contracting process with each CMO. The site is www.mmis.georgia.gov. Go to Provider Enrollment, Enrollment Wizard to apply.
No More Extensions for ICD-10 Conversion
Farzad Mostashari, MD, the national coordinator for health care IT, asserted that there would be no extension of the deadline for switching from the ICD-9 medical coding system to ICD-10. The deadline for conversion would remain Oct. 1, 2014, Mostashari said in a keynote delivered recently at the HIMSS Media ICD-10 Forum in National Harbor, Md.
"There are no plans for any more extensions," he told attendees, repeating it twice, for emphasis.
Here's a link to the full article in Healthcare IT News:
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/mostashari-nomore-icd-10-extensions
No More ICD-10 Procrastination, Please
If you've not yet begun to integrate ICD-10 into your practice, you may miss the testing that begins later this year. That's right, DCH and Georgia Medicaid plan to start testing with trading partners in the fourth quarter of 2013.
The mandatory date for ICD-10 compliance is October 1, 2014, but testing will begin in about four short months.
Need some help in getting started? Visit the DCH website for recorded WebEx presentations, (www.dch.georgia.gov/it-events), FAQs and more (www.dch.georgia.gov/icd-10.)

Do you have a question or a comment? Tell us what's on your mind at DCH-i@dch.ga.gov.

About DCH
Through effective planning, purchasing and oversight, the
Department of Community Health (DCH) provides access
to affordable, quality health care to millions of Georgians, including some of the state's
most vulnerable and underserved populations.
DCH is responsible for Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids, the State Health Benefit
Plan, Healthcare Facility Regulation and Health Information Technology in
Georgia. David A. Cook is the DCH
Commissioner. We are dedicated to A Healthy Georgia.
www.dch.georgia.gov
Editor-in-Chief Pamela A. Keene
Webmaster Jeffrey L. Holt
Production Iris McIlvaine Circulation Denise L. Smith Interim Director of Communications Peggy Woodruff
DCH Mission
We will provide Georgians with access to affordable quality health care through effective planning, purchasing and oversight.
We are dedicated to A Healthy Georgia.

Save the Dates -- Upcoming 2013 Webinars
June 27 -- 10:30 a.m. Topic: Tools & Tips to Tackle the Transition to ICD-10 July 16 -- 10:30 a.m. Topic: Small Practice Readiness July 23 -- 10:30 a.m. Topic: Small Clinic/Hospital Readiness August 15 -- 10:30 a.m. Topic: ICD-10 Clinical Close-up -- Part 1 August 22 -- 10:30 a.m. Topic: ICD-10 Clinical Close-up -- Part 2 More webinars are planned for September and October 2013
To register for any of the above ICD-10 webinars, visit www.dch.georgia.gov/it-events and select the webinar/date link and follow the instructions.

DCH Hosts First Association, Society Update Meeting
In mid-June, representatives from the state's health care associations and societies attended the Georgia Department of Community Health's (DCH) "DCH Health Matters & You." The purpose of the meeting was to bring these important stakeholders together for updates about various DCH issues that affect their membership.
Commissioner David A. Cook welcomed attendees and Deputy Commissioner Blake Fulenwider reviewed the high-level impact of the ACA on health care in the state, as well as an overview of the Health Insurance Exchange.
Medicaid Chief Jerry Dubberly shared information about various provider changes, including the ACA Provider Rate increase, Ordering, Prescribing and Referring Provider Enrollment and more. Chief Information Officer Sonny Munter discussed Georgia Medicaid Management Information System (GAMMIS) improvements and enhancements, including the creation of an Integrated Eligibility System for members. The meeting also included "The 411 on ICD-10" presentation by DCH's ICD-10 transition team.

New Name Announced for Health Information Exchange
The Georgia Health Information Exchange Inc. (GHIE) has completed its name change to the Georgia Health Information Network Inc. (GaHIN). The new name encompasses the robust set of health information products and services offered by "the Network."
"We are not a health information exchange in the true sense of the term, and the name change more accurately defines our mission and vision for widespread connectivity among Georgia providers," said Dennis White, chairman of GaHIN Inc. "The Georgia Health Information Network is exactly that...a network of established health information networks, connecting a variety of established health care stakeholders from around the state of Georgia and to the national network."
To learn more about the Georgia Health Information Network or to register, visit www.GaHIN.org.

Physicians Urged to Register for GeorgiaDirect
More than 2100 health care providers across Georgia have registered for GeorgiaDirect, a free, secure and easy-to use email messaging service offered by the Georgia Health Information Network Inc. (GaHIN). Spearheaded by the Health Information Technology (Health IT) Division of the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) and the GaHIN in a public/private partnership, GeorgiaDirect was developed to automate health care referrals between patients, physicians, hospitals, laboratories and other authorized health care stakeholders.
"GeorgiaDirect is the first step in implementing a statewide - not state-run -- health information network to better serve patients and increase efficiencies in health care across Georgia," said David A. Cook, DCH commissioner. "This network -- which should not be confused with a health insurance exchange -- will literally transform health care in the years to come, delivering on our goal of a healthy Georgia through greater coordination of care, delivering better health outcomes, increasing administrative efficiencies and more. Additionally, privacy of health information is paramount to the department, and GeorgiaDirect is much more secure for the transmission of information than current methods."
Participants in GeorgiaDirect are able to transmit patient health information between authorized providers for a more efficient and secure exchange of patient data versus the current system of faxes, mail, couriers and telephones. GeorgiaDirect was developed using national standards from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's Direct Project.
GeorgiaDirect is powered by Medicity, a leading health information exchange company. Medicity will provide technical and provider support for GeorgiaDirect secure messaging services.
To learn more about the Georgia Health Information Network and GeorgiaDirect or to register, visit www.GaHIN.org.

Nearly $150 Million Paid in EHR Incentives
Georgia's Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program has issued nearly $150 million to eligible providers through June 17, 2013. The program was launched on September 5, 2011.