MSP FEE SCHEDULE AND BILLING CHANGES

2002.12.07

Overview

At the request of the BCMA, MSP has implemented some new fee items and increases in fee amounts throughout the fee schedule. These changes will take effect on December 15, 2002. In addition, on January 1, 2003, a Rural Retention Premium (RRP) will replace the Northern and Isolation Allowance Premium (NIA). The RRP will be paid on each claim submitted to MSP. In order to receive the RRP, it is necessary to indicate the location that the service was performed in the "Service Clarification Code" field.

The changes to the fee schedule include the addition of several age specific codes for each of several common general practice services (standard visit fee, counselling, complete examinations and consultations). A separate set of age specific fees is used to distinguish whether or not services are performed in or out of the office (only one set of fees for consultations in or out of office). Unfortunately, notice of these codes and the deadline for implementation was not released until December 4, 2002 and not received by registered mail until December 6, 2002. Substantial changes in software logic are necessary in order to automatically apply the correct age specific codes and there is no time to distribute these changes before the deadline. However, it is possible to download the fee schedule in electronic format from MSP and update your files on the deadline dates so that the fee codes and amounts are available in the selection list. Users will have to apply the correct code for age range manually until a planned update can be installed early in the New Year.

Procedure for Downloading Fee Schedule

Perform this AFTER December 14, 2002, not before:

1.     Go to Teleplan

2.     From main menu select "Other Processing Options"

3.     In next menu, select "Receive ASCII File from MSP"

4.     Tab to the 3rd field requesting "PC File to Receive Data" and type "C:\mois\data\feemsp.asc" (no quotes, not case sensitive, backslash is NOT on the "?" key)

5.     Tab to the 5th field entitled "Type of File to Receive from MSP"

6.     Hit the space bar to drop down a selection list and down arrow to the item that is just out of view entitled "#3 MSP Fee Schedule Costs"

7.     Hit space bar to select the above item and close selection list

8.     Hit enter to accept this form and enter the usual login screen requesting User ID and Password

9.     A file containing 4701 records will download after successful login.

10. When download complete, you will be returned to the MedOffIS login screen

11. Log in and go to the "Utilities" menu on the menu bar

12. Select "Update MSP Fees"

13. Answer "Y" (no quotes) to confirmation screen

14. The counter will increment to 4702 as records processed. Hit spacebar when complete to return to MedOffIS

15. Go back to the "Utilities" menu and select "Update WCB Fees"

16. Answer "Y" (no quotes ) to confirmation screen

17. Enter "1.06" for premium amount to be applied to MSP amount and hit enter. Hit spacebar when complete to return to MedOffIS

The fee schedule text file will not be available for download from MSP until sometime after December 10, 2002. When it is available, it is possible to get a head start and download the file but do not perform the update in MedOffIS (ie stop at instruction 10) until December 15, 2002.

Procedure for Specifying Location To Receive the RRP

The two character field just in front of the 5 character fee code field in "Unsent to MSP" specifies the Service Clarification Code. This field was added in the last MedOffIS update in anticipation of the changes that are occurring. The default Service Clarification Code is now "00" in most sites (except for psychiatric billing which has been using this field for the "Geographic Differential Payment Rate" (GDPR)). The default code can be changed in the "Edit Prompts and System File" utility that is launched from the "Utilities" menu on the menu bar. After loading the utility:

1.     Go to the "System File Variables" window by pressing "ALT 8" or clicking on the title with the mouse

2.     Tab just over 1/3 the way down the screen to the field on the right labelled "Default Clarification Code"

3.     Enter the two character code appropriate to your area (list of codes should have been mailed by MSP to your office). For example, in Prince George enter "PG" or in Lumby, enter "L6". Letters must be in capitals (upper case is automatically applied)

4.     Press F2 to save the change

5.     Press ALT F4 to close the utility and return to the main area of MedOffIS

The default clarification code can be changed anytime before January 1, 2003.

If You Have Trouble

Unfortunately, I will be out of the country on a planned short vacation from December 11 - 19, just when all of this is occurring. I planned this early so I would be available at the beginning of the New Year when I had anticipated the deadline would be for all changes. These instructions will hopefully be all you need but you can call Tetrabyte Computers (Sean) at 250.565.1441 for help if needed.

Things to Note

MSP will reject billings based on new codes and amounts if submitted before December 15, 2002. For valid codes submitted after December 15, 2002 containing the old amounts, MSP will accept the claim and apply the new amount if it is otherwise acceptable. However, if the code is not valid (this includes billing a "retired" code such as 13100 or billing a code not appropriate for the age of the patient), MSP will reject the claim in the pre-edit process.

Medical Office Information Systems

December 7, 2002