Past Issues

With last year’s hurricane season fresh in our minds, we need to ensure we are prepared for any weather-related business interruptions. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) takes precautionary measures as soon as a major storm is headed for Florida’s coastline.

As Florida’s population continues to grow in diversity, the ability to communicate with people from different cultures has become an important part of serving your patients and providing culturally competent care. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida continues to offer physicians participating in our Recognizing Physician Excellence (RPE) program an opportunity to enhance their communication skills and, without charge, earn two CME credit hours with Quality Interactions©, an online interactive course.

South Florida Pediatric Partners (SFPP) introduced e-Medicine’s secure online communication services to their patients last December. The group operates 10 offices in the tri-county area of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. All 28 physicians and their staff use the e-Medicine service, which is provided through RelayHealth.

Have you recently joined our provider network(s), added a new line of business, added a physician to your practice, or hired new staff members in your office?

Effective Aug. 1, 2006, Morgan Industries will issue a new alpha prefix and member IDs for employees who reside in Florida. To ensure proper billing, please ask these members for a copy of their ID card at each visit and update your information and billing systems if there is a change.

The CMS-1500 (12/90) paper claim form is being revised to accommodate the reporting of the National Provider Identifier (NPI). Physicians, providers and suppliers can begin using the new CMS-1500 (08/05) form when sending claims to BCBSF beginning Oct. 1, 2006.

The AMA CPT coding manual recognizes three codes for Hemoccult tests: 82270, 82272 and 82274. Currently, 82270 is eligible for payment when performed in the physician’s office for BlueCare, BlueOptions and Medicare Advantage members.

Availity continues to enhance its service. Finding out what’s new is easy. After logging into the Availity® Gateway,1 click Help and view the What’s New and Changed topic. Here’s a rundown of some of the latest enhancements:

New member ID cards are effective June 1, 2006, for members of various national accounts that have transitioned from the NASCO system to the BlueCard program.

On May 17, 2006, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) issued updated criteria for mumps immunity and updated mumps vaccination recommendations in response to the current outbreak of mumps in the United States. Nearly 2,600 cases of mumps have been reported through from Jan. 1, 2006, to May 2, 2006, in 11 states.

The CDC has updated the 2005 recommendations by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) regarding the use of influenza vaccine and antiviral agents. The 2006 recommendations include the following:

Sanofi Pasteur anticipates that demand for its tetravalent meningococcal polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccine ([MCV4] Menactra® will outpace supply at least through summer 2006.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida is working with the American Cancer Society (ACS) to remind our members of the importance of appropriate colorectal screenings. Colorectal cancer is a major killer of both men and women in the United States. It is expected to strike nearly 150,000 people in 2006, and kill more than 55,000, according to the ACS. About 9,900 new cases are expected this year in Florida. Yet this cancer is largely preventable

Our Medical Coverage Guideline website has been updated with a link to keep you abreast of current updates.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida’s (BCBSF) joint venture with Humana – Availity, LLC – announced on June 8 its plans to form a joint venture with The Health Information Network (THIN), a wholly owned subsidiary of Health Care Service Corp.

We’ve updated our website to make it easy for physicians and providers to access the most up-to-date Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) information on the National Provider Identifier (NPI).

The Blue Distinction Hospital Measurement and Improvement Program, a collaborative effort between Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida and other Blue plans, reports on key performance metrics of network hospitals.

Our physician satisfaction survey is under way. The independent research firm of TNS will be contacting primary care and specialist physicians by phone.

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