To assist facilities affected by hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, AOPA has contacted Palmetto GBA to determine how claims from these facilities will be handled. DMERC staff indicates that special handling will be provided for "disaster claims."
Here is what you must do to make sure the DMERC is aware of your "disaster claim." You must submit these claims as paper claims (no electronic claims will be treated as "disaster claims") and you must indicate in large letters in the upper right hand corner "Disaster Claim."
Some of the situations that may qualify for the submission of such "disaster claims" are: 1) Your patient records have been destroyed. 2) You are treating a patient from an area affected by hurricane Katrina (even if you are not in such area) and neither you nor the patient has appropriate documentation (for example, earlier patient notes, prescriptions, etc.) 3) Your patient has lost his/her device as a result of the hurricane and you are simply replacing it.
If you are in doubt as to whether a specific claim would qualify, contact Palmetto GBA and discuss your situation. Updates will be provided as AOPA obtains additional information.
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Also, in an earlier posting, AOPA indicated that Palmetto GBA would be temporarily suspending some audits in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Note that in order for audits to be suspended for your facility, it must not only be in one of these states, but must also have been affected by hurricane Katrina. If your facility was not affected, AOPA regrets that the audits are expected to continue.
If you have been affected, contact Charlene Craven at 803 763-5372 or Joette Gdovin at 803 763-7202 to request a waiver of audit activities. ************************************************************* Posted 9-6-05 at 5:10 p.m. E.D.T.
American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association T: 571-431-0876 330 John Carlyle Street, Suite 200 F: 571-431-0899 Alexandria, VA 22314 www.AOPAnet.org
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