First Coast Service Options (FCSO) | The Health Law Firm Blog

Jurisdiction 12 Gets New Medicare Administrative Carrier

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Diversified Service Options (DSO) acquired Highmark Medicare Services (Highmark) on January 1, 2012. DSO is a holding company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc. (BCBS Florida). Highmark had the contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to be the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC), formerly known as a “Carrier” or “Fiscal Intermediary,” for Jurisdiction 12, which includes Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington, D.C. For Part B services, Jurisdiction 12 also includes the counties of Arlington and Fairfax in Virginia and the city of Alexandria in Virginia.

As of March 1, 2012, […]

Compliance with Conditions of Participation Necessary for Reinstatement of Terminated Medicare Billing Privileges or Revoked Medicare Provider Number and Participation Agreement

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

We have recently experienced an alarming increase in the number of Medicare providers receiving notices that their Medicare billing privileges are being terminated. These include home health agencies (HHAs), independent diagnostic testing facilities (IDTFs), ambulance and emergency transport providers, physicians, pharmacies, durable medical equipment (DME) providers, medical groups, physical therapists and therapy providers. In most cases, this is because the health care provider has failed to update its address with the Medicare Program. To see a prior article we wrote on this, click here.

Most often this occurs when […]