PHYSICIAN NOTES: Talk About Copays? No Way!

Why This Topic Matters

The piece is relevant because it touches on patient financial communication, fraud and compliance risk, claim filing timeliness, and diagnosis code maintenance updates—all practical issues that can affect medical practice operations and coding workflows.

Article Sections

1. Physicians don't like to talk about out-of-pocket costs

   Discusses physician and patient attitudes toward conversations about healthcare costs and the broader issue of patient cost burden.

2. Fraud indictment involving clinic billing

   Summarizes allegations in a healthcare fraud case involving clinic billing practices, staffing, and submitted claims.

3. CMS timely payment rules update

   Covers CMS guidance on claim-filing timeliness, including handling claims that span calendar years and related processing steps.

4. ICD-9 update for SARS-related diagnosis codes

   Notes an ICD-9 code update for 2004 that added SARS-related diagnosis categories and related reporting changes.