Self-Service Pulse: What You Need To Know This Week
As your MAC, National Government Services wants to provide you with a comprehensive source containing the most current information available for our self-service tools.
Medicare BLAST is a quick, ten-question game that will challenge the Medicare knowledge of you and your peers. Who were our victorious winners on 8/21/2024?
Congratulations to our winners! If you weren't able to play Medicare BLAST, don't worry. We will offer more opportunities to play in the near future.
Curious on the questions that were asked during this Medicare BLAST? Scroll to the bottom of this edition to obtain the questions and correct answers.
Watch your Email Updates for your next opportunity to emerge victorious with Medicare BLAST.
How to Use the Additional Development/Documentation Request Timeline Calculator
When you receive an ADR letter, it is imperative you respond within a timely manner. To ensure your documentation is received in time, you can utilize the ADR Timeline Calculator.
Visit our website under Resources, then select the Tools & Calculators link.
Select ADR Response Timeline
Select the Type of ADR you received from the dropdown.
Select the Notification Date.
The date your requested medical records must be received by NGS will display. Select the Reset button to clear all data and submit a new query.
New Bilateral Option Added to Part A Prior Authorization Requests in NGSConnex
NGSConnex users now have a bilateral (BIL) option when a user initiates a Part A Prior Authorization within the portal and selects one of the following procedure types:
- Blepharoplasty/Eyelid/Brow Repair
- Facet Joint Interventions
- Vein Ablation
Note: The portal will continue to provide the left (LT) and right (RT) options.
Prior to this change, users only had the option to select LT and RT and many times would not select both when applicable. We have now simplified this by adding a BIL option. Each of the applicable procedure types indicated above, will now have a LT, RT or BIL option to choose from.
Below are examples of each of the procedure types indicated above with the new BIL option. Connex users should only select BIL, LT, or RT for the appropriate procedure code(s). Users can select multiple procedure codes when applicable.
Blepharoplasty/Eyelid/Brow Repair Example
Facet Joint Interventions Example
Vein Ablation Example
Medicare University
National Government Services offers a variety of teleconferences, webinars and face-to-face educational sessions on Medicare-related topics including rules and regulations throughout the year.
Our new MU platform is ready for you to download your certificate for these types of education.
If you have logged into Medicare University in the past two years, you should have received an email to log into the new platform and create a password. This email went out to the email address on file for your Medicare University account. If you did not get an email, please go to this link to create an account in the new Medicare University platform: https://ngsmedicareuniversity.litmos.com/.
We’ve created these YouTube videos to assist you with the new Medicare University platform.
- How to Register for Courses in Medicare University
- How to Get Certificates from a Webinar in Medicare University
- How to Access Legacy Course Certificates in the New Medicare University
How to Register for Courses in Medicare University
Watch this video to learn how to register for courses in Medicare University.
Medicare BLAST - National Government Services at a Glance
Answers are in bold.
- National Government Services is the Medicare Administrative Contractor for Part A and Part B Jurisdiction 6 and Jurisdiction K.
a. True
b. False
- Part B Jurisdiction 6 represents the states of Minnesota, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Vermont.
a. True
b. False
Part B Jurisdiction 6 represents the states of Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
- National Government Services effectuates claim review decisions on behalf of CMS-authorized contractors such as CERT and the RAC based on findings in their independent claim review activities.
a. True
b. False
- CERT is the acronym for
a. Carrier Error Rate Testing
b. Contractor Evaluation Rate Transition
c. Comprehensive Error Rate Testing
- Part B Jurisdiction K represents the states of Arizona, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island.
a. True
b. False
Part B Jurisdiction K represents the state of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
- National Government Services is the Medicare Administrative Contractor for Home Health and Hospice Jurisdiction K (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT) and Jurisdiction 6 (NY, NJ, MI, WI, MN, ID, NV, WA, OR, CA, AZ, AK, HI, PR, Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Virgin Islands, Guam) and federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics in 44 states, District of Columbia and five U.S. territories.
a. True
b. False
- As a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC), NGS is responsible for all aspects of claim processing in the geographic locations they represent including claim development for additional information, claim review, first level of appeal for claim denials and both underpayment and overpayment collection processes.
a. True
b. False
- Upcoming educational webinars are located in the Education tab of the NGSMedicare website.
a. True
b. False
Webinars are located in the Events page of the NGSMedicare website.
- National Government Services has a robust website with resources accessible 24/7.
a. True
b. False
- The acronym USB stands for
a. Universal Serial Bus
b. Uniformed System Business
c. Unified Serial Box
Visit About Us to learn more about NGS. Our Site Map guides you to all areas of our website.
Revised 11/8/2024