Past Issues

The National Provider Identifier (NPI) is part of the HIPAA-AS mandate requiring a standard unique identifier for health care providers. This 10-digit number will replace other identifiers, such as your Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida provider numbers, other payer identifiers, UPIN, CHAMPUS, Medicaid number, etc.

Before we know it, enrollment will begin for Medicare beneficiaries in Medicare Part D, the prescription drug coverage to be added to Medicare in 2006. The rollout of the prescription drug program is the latest in a series of changes resulting from passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA).

In August, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida will begin to promote its new PPO program for Medicare beneficiaries in Broward and Palm Beach counties. The product will also be available for sale in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

The conversion of member contract identification from Social Security numbers to a new ID format is well under way. To date, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) has converted 860,000 or 74 percent of our member IDs to the new format.

Did you know Availity offers a clearinghouse service that enables physicians to submit claims to more than 1,300 health plans at no charge?

Availity offers the ability to receive claim payment information in an Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA) from several health plans, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida.

Many other Blue Plans have product names similar or the same as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida’s, such as BlueCare and BlueOptions.

We continue work on improving our processes to be more efficient and consistent and to reduce administrative expenses.

The annual BlueCard provider satisfaction survey is under way through September.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) Standards of Care for 2005 recommend a dual approach to assess the effectiveness of the management plan on glycemic control for diabetic patients.

Health Options, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida’s HMO subsidiary, is streamlining its authorization requirements for the Advanced Renal Options (ARO) End Stage Renal Disease ESRD) demonstration program.

Neisseria meningitidis has become a leading cause of bacterial meningitis in the United States.

Physicians should pay close attention to managing asthma in pregnant patients, according to guidelines released by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, which was convened by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released in May an updated guideline, recommending against the routine use of combined estrogen and progestin for the prevention of chronic conditions in postmenopausal women.

It’s already a busy hurricane season threatening weather-related business interruptions. When a major storm is headed for Florida’s coastline, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) takes precautionary measures.

How can you improve patient satisfaction, eliminate some timeconsuming, labor-intensive patient phone calls and boost productivity of a busy office without adding costly staff, software or hardware? e-Medicine — doctors using it are singing its praises.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida representatives will be participating this summer at upcoming county and specialty medical society meetings.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida is currently evaluating participation in the national Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH) online credentialing database to determine if it will improve our credentialing process and benefit our providers.

Hypercholesterolemia is considered one of the main contributors to coronary heart disease (CHD) in the United States.

The Preferred Medication List and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) Formulary are guides for members with three- and two-tier prescription plans, respectively.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida has launched an educational intervention for our members and their prescribers covering the value of cholesterol-lowering therapy in preventing a cardiovascular event.