Consulting Services

Yikes! What’s all this about ACA Operating Rules???

Thursday, March 7th, 2013
Man with Questions

Can you offer real time eligibility and claim status in 20 seconds or less, roundtrip?

Did you know that if you’re a HIPAA-covered entity, you could be faced with hefty fines if you’re not compliant with Phase I of the ACA Operating Rules by April 1, 2013?

If you’re still a little hazy on the ACA Operating Rules requirements, we can help. Regardless of where you’re at now, our deep industry knowledge and experience will help you tackle these requirements like a pro.

Misconception:

The ACA Operating Rules don’t apply to my business.

  • If you’re a HIPAA-covered entity, the ACA Operating Rules apply to you!
  • If you confirm eligibility to your Providers over the phone, you must comply with Real Time Eligibility by January 1, 2013.
  • If you accept claims from your Providers, you must comply with Real Time Claims Status by January 1, 2013.
  • If you’re not already, you must offer EFT and ERA to all providers by January 1, 2014.

Deadlines:

  • Phase I – 01/01/13 (Real Time Eligibility and Claims Status)
  • Phase II – 01/01/14 (EFT and ERA)
  • Phase III – 01/01/16 (Claims, COB, Enrollment, Premium Payment, Referral, Auths)

What we offer…

 

Compliance Services

After quickly assessing your current environment and strategic plans, we will work with your team to evaluate the scope, risk factors, and required actions to comply with all three phases of the ACA Operating Rules mandates. We can take the burden off your team with services customized to your specific needs.

#1: Discovery – operating rules education, review goals, establish a methodology and expected deliverables, evaluate your current technology and application architecture, detailed review of your transaction processes for claims, eligibility, claims status, and claims payment.

#2: Analysis – through a series of interviews and system evaluation, we will complete the following deliverables as required by CAQH CORE to satisfy requirements and prepare for payer certification:
    -  Stakeholder and Business Type Evaluation
    -  Systems Inventory and Impact Assessment
    –  Detailed Gap Analysis
    –  System and Process Flow Diagram
    –  Code Mapping

#3: Deliverables – onsite presentation of the CORE required deliverables along with a draft project plan and a written assessment report of risk areas, alternatives to consider, and recommendations for next steps and risk mitigation.

Compliance Software

To further accelerate your Phase I compliance efforts, we can integrate an automated software solution with your current core claims transaction system to seamlessly support the mandated real time eligibility and claim status requirements (270/271, 276/277).

Request more information about ACA Operating Rules Services and Software >>

Additional Resources:

HCIM Welcomes Ryan Maciej as a Professional Project Consultant

Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

HCIM is pleased to announce the addition of Ryan Maciej (pronounced “ma-chee” like “bocce” ball) to our Professional Consulting team. He recently finished a long-term QNXT implementation where he served as a Business Analyst and is now busy putting the knowledge and experience he gained from that project to good use for another QNXT client. In addition to utilizing his QNXT skills, he’s taking on additional roles and responsibilities in the project management area.

“The first thing that drew me to Ryan was his excitement and enthusiasm. He’s a definite go-getter and loves to tackle new challenges. That’s exactly the type of Colleague that HCIM seeks out in the hiring process. Ryan’s experience with the QNXT system and implementation best practices was the deciding factor – we knew we had to have him. He’s well-equipped to bring value to any QNXT project and is also a natural leader,” said Jeff Hall, HCIM’s EVP, Professional Solutions.

Ryan holds a BA in Mathematics from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., where he also participated in Track and Field. He loves to learn new skills in his free time. After teaching himself photography, he developed an impressive photography website (www.ryanmaciej.com). He also enjoys running, biking, camping, and hanging out with his dog.

“Becoming part of HCIM was an easy choice for me. Everyone has gone above and beyond to welcome me to the team. I look forward to all the challenges ahead of me, knowing there will always be someone to turn to when I need it most. I am also excited to learn from my senior colleagues as my career continues to develop,” said Ryan.

The ICD-10 Deadline is Officially Delayed until Oct. 2014!

Friday, August 24th, 2012

It’s official! The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today that the ICD-10 compliance deadline will be delayed one year, from Oct. 1, 2013, to Oct. 1, 2014. While this announcement will likely be frustrating and potentially costly for those who were already on track for the Oct. 2013 deadline, the deadline delay will be much appreciated by those who were running behind on the ICD-10 implementation. The final rule also established the use of a unique health plan identifier (HPID) to be used in provider billing, as well as an other entity identifier (OEID).

For more information about this Administrative Simplification regulation, entitled “Adoption of a Standard for a Unique Health Plan Identifier; Addition to the National Provider Identifier Requirements; and a Change to the Compliance Date for the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition (ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS) Medical Data Code Sets,” view the final rule and fact sheet.

SymKey for QNXT Benefit and Contract Loader Utilities

Wednesday, June 27th, 2012

A recent Q-User’s Group (QUG) email about Provider Contract setup forms sparked interest in HCIM’s automated Benefit Plan and Provider Contract Loader utilities. These utilities seamlessly interact with the QNXT user interface to build benefits/contracts using a spreadsheet template and SymKey’s advanced automation engine, eliminating manual entry for the consistent and accurate loading of benefits and contracts. As a result, QUG Board President Susan Butts invited HCIM to host a June 20 webinar to present on these two utilities. The webinar was very well attended and interactive with many great questions from the audience. Although the benefit and contract loaders are initially being developed on QNXT, HCIM’s technology is system agnostic and can be adapted to any payer system and any system module.

Benefits of the SymKey Loader Utilities

The SymKey for QNXT Benefit Plan and Provider Contract Loader utilities provide the following advantages:

  • Analytical tool to compare, analyze, and modify the values of all terms in a benefit plan or provider contract within a single spreadsheet
  • Accurate and consistent loading of plans/contracts based on preconfigured and validated spreadsheet templates
  • Timeliness through automated loading of plans/contracts – 6-8x faster than manually
  • Eliminates the need to test when moving plans/contracts from test to production
  • Provides an audit report of the plans, contracts, and values that were loaded
  • Business/Configuration Analysts can focus on analyzing, testing, and troubleshooting instead of manually loading plans/contracts

Value Added Configuration Tools

HCIM’s Professional Consultants will have use of the Benefit Plan and Provider Contract Loader spreadsheet templates and utilities as part of their toolsets at no additional cost to clients during QNXT configuration services engagements. Clients can decide whether or not to license the utilities after the engagement, per standard licensing fees.

Note: HCIM will provide the spreadsheet templates to all QNXT users upon request and free of charge – an email announcement will be made once the spreadsheets are finalized and available for release.

SymKey for QNXT Benefit & Contract Loader Utilities License Fees

HCIM’s SymKey for QNXT Benefit and Contract Loader Utilities Annual Software License Fees are based on a tiered pricing model and feature:

  • 15% multi-year agreement discount
  • 50% discount for second licensed loader utility
  • Flexible payment terms available upon request
  • Two beta clients for each utility will be offered a one-time client beta development discount of $5,000 per year for the initial license agreement period

For more information on pricing and functionality of the SymKey for QNXT Benefit and Contract Loader utilities, please contact:

Laurie Kirkland
Director of Sales & Marketing
949-290-6445
lkirkland@hcim.com

04/03/2012: HCIM Transforms the Face of Consulting

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – April 3, 2012 – HealthCare Information Management, Inc. (HCIM) announced today that they are propelling consultant interviews into the 21st century by allowing clients to screen HCIM’s experienced healthcare payer professional consultants via HCIM’s exclusive virtual interview process. Using video conferencing, clients can interview potential consulting resources just as they would in a traditional face-to-face interview.

HR professionals know that the most important factors in a face-to-face interview are facial expressions and body language. These indicators are essential to assessing the candidate’s character, personality, sincerity, and compatibility with the organization. HCIM believes that hiring managers should not go in blind when interviewing consultants.

With all the technological advancements these past few years, HCIM has found video conferencing to be an amazing opportunity to restore personal interaction when an in-person interview isn’t practical or cost-efficient. HCIM’s proprietary virtual interviews are recorded and made available to the interviewer(s) for reference. Even traditional interviews lack this added bonus which allows the interviewer and other team members to review the recording throughout the decision making process. Copious note-taking during the interview makes it difficult to concentrate on asking the right questions and carrying on a real dialog. This allows the interviewer to be in the moment and to return to the recording for body language analysis.

Free iPad 3

By helping to transform the face of consulting, each client that contracts to hire an HCIM consultant through this groundbreaking virtual interview process will receive a free iPad 3. There is no limit to this special limited time offer. Please contact HCIM at services@hcim.com for additional information about the special promotion or for more details on virtual interviews.

Expect Only the Best

In 2011, HCIM began transforming the face of consulting by introducing protection from project rework with their Performance Assurance program. Now they’re changing the approach for selecting the right consultant. This innovative yet simple solution demonstrates HCIM’s commitment to providing the best advice, products, services, and support. HCIM’s consultants bring this same innovation to their projects through creative solutions and valuable toolsets. As with HCIM’s Performance Assurance program, HCIM encourages healthcare payers to expect the same level of service from any consulting firm they work with.

Responsive to Industry Conditions

HCIM is sensitive to the economic and regulatory challenges facing the healthcare payer industry and as a result is offering a lower hourly bill rate. HCIM’s competitive rates are available upon request.

About HCIM

Incorporated in July 2000, HCIM delivers technology solutions and consulting services to the managed care/payer industry. HCIM offers many innovative software solutions, including the SymKey®, ScanClaims®, and Appeals Manager™ product suites, which increase productivity by automating and tracking the adjudication of claims, authorizations, appeals, and provider dispute resolutions.

HCIM’s Professional Solutions team offers payer system implementation and configuration, historical data conversions, operational assessments, business process reengineering and analysis, custom report and database development, and ICD-10 impact assessment services.

For more information about HCIM’s products and services, contact HCIM Sales and Marketing at 888-454-0202, option 5, or visit www.hcim.com.

Download the PDF!

HCIM Issues Groundbreaking Performance Assurance Pledge

Friday, March 25th, 2011

HCIM has just raised the bar in healthcare payer consulting services with a groundbreaking Performance Assurance pledge. We pledge to deliver professional, competent, and affordable consulting services to the agreed-upon specifications or fix it at no additional charge. This means that clients will never be charged more than the price they were quoted for their project to be completed to specification.

After hearing of healthcare payer organizations that were hit hard with consulting cost overruns due to misconfiguration by inexperienced IT consultants, I began to wonder why they were forced to pay more to get the job done right the second time around. That’s why we at HCIM decided to formally pledge that it will be done right the first time or it will be fixed for free. This means no more living with inefficient systems and clunky manual workarounds, no more budget overages to get the job done right. This is what healthcare payers deserve. My goal is that this will open the door for other consultancies to follow suit and offer the same assurance, marking the end of IT consulting cost overruns for healthcare payer organizations.

HCIM’s unique partnership with the industry’s leading core transaction system vendors gives our consultants unprecedented access to system training and certification, so they are always a step ahead. These relationships also give us unrestricted direct access to the vendor’s product and technical support teams for a faster, more accurate resolution. Rest assured that HCIM’s consultants have the practical hands-on experience and in-depth payer industry knowledge to deliver innovative solutions on time and within budget.  Performance Assurance is just one of HCIM’s contributions to help reduce the cost of today’s healthcare by bringing down associated administrative costs. Working together and doing it right the first time will have a real and tangible impact.

If this sounds like a program that would benefit your organization, please click here to sign up for a free consultation.

Jeffrey Hall
Executive Vice President, Client Services
HealthCare Information Management, Inc.

Implementing Successful Health Care Payer Core Claims System Conversions

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

Over the span of my career, I have led or been involved in numerous system installations and conversions. It seems like each project involves an out of date or unsupported primary/legacy system that needs to be replaced, which means that a new and exciting system is waiting out there to improve the client’s productivity.

As Director of Product Integration at HCIM, it is one of my primary job functions to implement new product installations and conversions, but I also get to lead and consult on projects for existing and new clients on core system conversions. About five years ago I was a primary influence in the conversion of providers, contracts, claims, auths, and members for a large client that was converting from Amisys C/S to Facets. I was involved in the data conversion mapping for all major modules and directly mapped much of the data myself. This included both the field level mapping from and to the legacy and new systems as well as conditional field and lookup table designs. I was a key member of the team, deciding what fields could be carried directly from system to system and what needed to be mapped to new values, in addition to what couldn’t be converted due to system limitations, changed workflow, or configuration design and needed to be fully recreated from scratch.

I recently led two historical data conversion projects for clients converting to ikaSystems’ ikaClaims and other ikaEnterprise modules. My team and I worked together to design a proprietary platform that imports legacy data, maps or converts it to the new database import schema, and validates each data field against individual field types, relational lookup values, industry standards, and system requirements. This process produced a clean file in the ikaSystems’ standard format. ikaSystems’ platform is flexible enough to allow for customization to accommodate each individual client’s business rules and policies so the converted data is both technically accurate and operationally functional for historical reference.

For the ikaSystems conversion we were called upon to convert historical system data for the member, provider, authorization, claims, payment, benefit plans, and accumulators. The task demanded a thorough understanding of business processes, system functionality, and technical rules to successfully accomplish an undertaking of this magnitude. It also required a good team and LOTS of communication in all directions.

If your organization is due for a new claims system and is looking for help selecting a new core claims transaction system or needs assistance with the historical data conversion or data clean up (i.e. duplicate provider or vendor records), contact me at 888-454-0202, option 5. I look forward to hearing from you.

Successful Joint ikaSystems Implementation/MC400 History Conversion Project

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

HCIM and IBA Healthcare Consultants, Inc. teamed up to bring a new client live with ikaSystems in only 60 days, which included converting the client’s historical data from a legacy MC400 system. This joint implementation effort successfully created over 1,300 benefit plans, migrated over 2,000 providers along with their related contracts, and migrated multiple years of historical eligibility, claims, and authorizations into the client’s new ikaClaims system.

“One of the key factors to our success stems from our deep systems and extensive operational managed care experience. We were able to quickly understand the client’s business requirements and architect ikaSystems to support current operations, integrate historical data structures, and support the client’s long term growth plans as well,” said David Lontok, President of IBA Healthcare Consultants, Inc., an HCIM business affiliate.

“Not only did we have to learn ikaSystems, but we also had to understand the MC400 data to appropriately map it to the ikaClaims table structure. I’m really proud of the work we accomplished in the short time period and look forward to continuing to work with IBA Healthcare Consultants in the future,” said Jeffrey Hall, SVP and Group Director of Consulting Services at HCIM.

Don’t miss out on Business Process Automation Opportunities

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

I recently visited one of our current SymKey® for EZ-CAP® clients in the Midwest. We met with our client’s COO for a couple of hours on a Monday morning. She shared with us the exciting activities and long term strategies that their organization has been working on in their efforts of continuous improvement and striving to bring ongoing “value-add” to the physician groups that they manage. As one of their strategic partners, she asked us to work with her operations staff to identify new business process automation opportunities to increase their claims auto-adjudication and the use of our SymKey for EZ-CAP product that they have been licensing for the last 18 months. She just knew that additional opportunities existed. I told her that we are always available and willing to work with our clients on these operational efficiency improvements efforts. We will be scheduling an onsite trip to work with this client in the next one to two months. When our customers further leverage their utilization of SymKey, their return on investment is increased and operational gains are achieved, which results in real bottom line gains.

I like to refer to these efforts as “peeling back the layers of an onion.” Just as someone peels back each layer of an onion to find a new fresh layer, so must operational managers and staff continuously review and identify current manual business processes that can be automated. Historical decisions as to why certain manual processes were established must be revisited and  re-analyzed on a regular basis (every six to 12 months). The justification for the manual process must be questioned and new opportunities must be explored to automate current processes with the use of tools such as SymKey. In today’s health plan/payer operations, there are generally several layers of operational processes and pending of claims that can be reviewed and analyzed on a regular basis to identify the manual processes performed by staff that are either outdated or that can be automated.

HCIM’s support staff and operational consultants are always willing and available to work with our current and prospective clients to identify new opportunities to further utilize SymKey’s automation and consistent processing of claims and authorizations. I am looking forward to going onsite and working with this specific client as a strategic partner to assist them in peeling back new layers of the onion and further increasing the automated-adjudication of claims with SymKey for EZ-CAP!

Can BPA help you ditch the Sticky Notes?

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

During my time spent as an Operations Manager, I remember that my claims processors had sticky notes all over their monitors and cheat sheets that they would use to remind them of manual or special processes for certain providers or members. Not everyone had the same sticky notes, nor did they all have the same handwritten notes on their cheat sheets. This was always an impediment to providing consistent service and claims adjudication results. No matter how hard they tried to remember everything, there was just too much to remember for all the claims they encountered on any given day. As Operations management staff, we were always on the lookout for tools that would allow us to automate our business processes. 

When I first saw the rudimentary running of the precursor to SymKey®, I knew that it could lead to the Business Process Automation (BPA) tool that I had been looking for and desperately needed. I immediately envisioned what has since become SymKey, a tool that has been in use by over 20+ clients in the past five years. HCIM has worked to expand our BPA vision to our other software solutions and services (ScanClaims™, Appeals Manager™, and other HCIM custom software applications) that are in current use by our clients throughout the managed care/payer industry, and on multiple platforms.

HCIM’s BPA solutions and services are cost-effective, user friendly, easy to implement, and provide both real productivity gains and a tangible return on investment. I invite others with my similar operation experiences to check out HCIM’s BPA solutions and services. You too can have the tools to eliminate the sticky notes and handwritten cheat sheets in your office.