JULY NEWSLETTER

Volume IV, Issue 3 July 2008

From California, the the New York Islands

It could be just the spirit of the 4th of July Holiday that has me quoting Woody Guthrie, or it could just be that the updates are coast to coast in this newsletter. In this edition we are announcing mandatory updates for both California's Blue Cross, as well as 2 different Medicare intermediaries in New York. In one case we had short notice, in the other there was basically no notice, but the Validator was built flexible enough to handle these changes quite well. Now, getting the information to those who need it, and fast, that becomes more difficult.

When Gary Stephens designed the first Validator program over 15 years ago, he likely never would have suspected how far the program would go. Today in our Validator Activation Key Generator we have over 1800 activation keys issued for over 60 active carrier modules in 35 states. This does not account for those who have Gold versions and have tested and are submitting production claims for states like Kansas, and for Florida Medicaid, which we should be able to add soon.

These newsletters are our main method for getting this information relayed to you. If you have not been receiving our newsletters via e-mail, we strongly encourage you to drop us an e-mail at info@satechs.com and ask to be added. In addition, as vendors, we are usually the last to know of any transition or change. If you have not heard from us regarding changes in your carrier, feel free to e-mail us about that as well, to make sure we are on top of things.

Anthem Blue Cross of CA Ready to Transition

Validator 5.14 has been released, and contains changes neccesary to make the transition from Blue Cross of CA's "spc mailbox" system, to the consolidated Anthem gateway.

In addition, the claim files that you send to Anthem Blue Cross of California are changing. Working hand in hand with Anthem, S&A has been making efforts to contact each person who is submitting to Blue Cross of California via telephone or e-mail sent out on July 14th, 2008. If you currently submit to Blue Cross of CA, you are strongly encouraged to visit our article on this transition at www.satechs.com/articles/anthem.html.

Empire and GHI Medicare NY Ready to Transition

In addition to the aforementioned changes, the Validator 5.14 program contains changes neccesary for GHI Medicare New York and Empire Medicare New York.

If you currently submit to Empire/NGS Medicare your payer ID number will need to change from 00803 to 13202. We have facilitated this change in the Validator, so either number will send claims to the Empire/NGS module, and the 13202 will show up on your claim files.

If you currently submit to GHI, you will need to start to submit to NGS Medicare, and your payer ID will change from 14330 to 13292. As with Empire, once you apply the update, either number will route claims to the GHI module, and put 13292 on those claims.

A positive change with both of these carriers is that the transition to the new NGS "M2" system means that you can take advantage of their "Async" dialup BBS gateway, which we have scripting already written and tested for. This means you no longer have to use IVANS to transmit your claims and receive your reports.

Fighting back against the budget crunch

As we sit back and celebrate our freedom during this 4th of July, a thought occurred to me that we often tend to lament the current economic situation, but seldom take the time to really appreciate our freedoms. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that we don’t always take advantage of any new freedoms we are afforded, yet it is human nature to notice when our freedoms are reduced, such as the freedom to take a family on vacation, buy food at reasonable prices, and live where we want to while working where we need to.

The unfortunate reality with today’s economy is that the price of doing business seems to be growing, while, at least in this business, income is going in the opposite direction. As small business owners, we are all painfully aware of the threats to our revenue stream, with Medicare reimbursements dropping 10.6% as of July 1st, (source: AAFP), and Medi-Cal here in the state of California following suit with its own 10% reduction (source cmanews.org). This coupled with our own burdens for rising expenses can make it easy to forget that costs are increasing for employees as well, and makes us less than receptive to the idea of an employee raise to help them deal with their own budget crunches. There are other options that you may not have considered, however. One of the ways you can help curb employee dissatisfaction is to offer them the ability, if only one or two days a week, to telecommute to work.

Why?

The advantages of telecommuting are numerous. Not only is the reduction in fuel costs good for the pocketbook, it is good for the environment as well. Employees will also enjoy increased productivity that comes from fewer office interruptions, a zero commute time, and being closer to the family. Many offices have successfully offered there employees the ability to telecommute as opposed to either losing that employee, or offering a substantial raise. It makes sense to offer the ability to save money rather than a raise, which is like putting your money directly into the big oil companies pocket’s. Your employees will not benefit much at all from that, but tend to gain a great deal of job satisfaction when able to work from home.

What would I need?

Most offices and employees in this business don’t even realize that they can usually offer telecommuting without any investment at all in equipment. Most offices already have high speed internet access, as do most employees. Below is a basic list of what you would need:
• A High Speed Internet Connection at work (Cable, DSL, etc.)
• One computer at work that is either Windows XP Professional or Windows Server
• One computer at the home location that is either Windows XP Home or Newer
• A High Speed Internet connection at the home location
• A decent printer at the home location (recommended, not required)

Is that it?

Yes, that is it! If your employee is going to work full time at home, or will be taking calls, a phone line is recommended, but if this only occurs one or two days a week, there is usually plenty they can do without one.

How do I get started?

Your friendly neighborhood Lytec reseller will likely have experience setting this up (though Lytec themselves cannot help in this matter). Here at Stephens & Associates, we have over a decade of expert knowledge and experience with remote access and telecommuting, and can help you find a solution that works best for your unique situation.