NEW YORK—Coding for Medicare can be challenging. Here’s an online resource that can answer your questions as they arise, and help you increase your reimbursements. Medicare created resources to help providers and the Medicare Learning Network is one of those resources.

The definition of the Medicare Learning Network is: “The Medicare Learning Network (MLN) is your destination for educational information for Medicare fee-for-service providers. The MLN is the brand name for official Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) national provider education products designed to promote national consistency of Medicare provider information. Most importantly, the MLN is here to help you.”

The MLN was created to solve the problem of keeping up with changes in Medicare policy. It does this by providing a variety of training and educational materials. MLN resources give Medicare fee-for-service health care professionals information on coverage, coding, billing, reimbursement and claim filing procedures for Medicare-covered services. The resources even address preventive services via telehealth.

The MLN Catalog of Products contains all MLN products currently available to health care providers available in print and an online electronic version. All information is free of charge. MLN products include:
  • Articles
  • Educational Tools
  • Brochures
  • Fact Sheets
  • Training Guides
  • Web Resources
Take a look at the MLN provider minute videos. These contain Medicare guidance on proper billing, coding and documentation requirements. Because these videos are for all providers, not just eyecare providers, you will have to be selective on what you view.

Another educational tool, the Medicare Quarterly Provider Compliance Newsletter, advises physicians, suppliers, and other fee-for-service providers about how to avoid common billing errors and other erroneous activities. The quarterly newsletter highlights the “top” issues of each quarter.

The newsletters are available here.

This article first appeared in Review of Optometric Business which offers a range of helpful features, reports and resources on Coding and Billing.