Entries by Excel Anesthesia

CRNA Reimbursement. Making a Case for Parity.

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By Jean Covillo, DNAP, MA, CRNA, APRN Physician Anesthesiologists (ANs) and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are qualified and licensed to provide anesthesia services. CMS directly reimburses both providers precisely the same, simply because it recognizes that both providers perform the same service, with the same patient safety outcomes, while adhering to the same quality performance […]

Methodology for calculating the Qualifying Payment Amount under the No Surprises Act sets up an environment “ripe for discrimination” against CRNAs.

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By Jean Covillo, DNAP, CRNA, APRN Managing Member, Excel Anesthesia, LLC As published in the federal register,  commercial payers are given the “green light” to discriminate against CRNAs by reducing payments for the same service. When calculating the Qualifying Payment Amount (QPA), insurance companies are allowed to separately calculate this amount based on service code-modifier […]

Research Studies

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An Evaluation of Commercial Payer Reimbursement and Contracting Factors for Physician Anesthesiologists and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists for Services Performed in 2019   CRNA FEE for Service Posted Content   Survey Instructions and Survey Questions

Help us end the Pandemic! Get Vaccinated!

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Opinion By Dr. Jean Covillo, CRNA When our choices as individuals overwhelmingly threaten the health and prosperity of our society ~ one must question whether these choices, are indeed, truly “personal.” Every day I see, hear, and read about folks angrily defending their rights as U.S. citizens to make their own decisions, live their own […]

Missouri Medicaid Expansion-Approved by Voters – Opposed by Legislators

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By Jean Covillo, DNAP, MA, CRNA March 27, 2021 Until Medicaid expansion actually takes effect, non-disabled adults without children are not eligible for Medicaid in Missouri (MO HealthNet) regardless of how low their income is, and parents with dependent children are only eligible with incomes that don’t exceed 22 percent of the poverty level.  Do […]

CRNA Identity Threats

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Urgent Priority Initiative: Updates Needed for CRNA Modifier Codes By Jean Covillo, DNAP, MA, APRN, CRNA The ASA’s rationale for a dominant position in the market depends on their ability to provide evidence of improved outcomes relative to CRNAs.  “This is not too difficult if the evidence collected contains ambiguously generated  data  from two separate […]

Darwin’s Law of Natural Selection: Eliminating Medical Direction Anesthesia Delivery Models.

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By Jean Covillo, DNAP, MA, CRNA Any healthcare facility that employs Anesthesia Assistants is trapped into using ONLY the costly medical direction model! Currently, there are approximately 54 million Medicare enrollees, but by 2030, this will rise to nearly 80 million.1 Medicare reimbursement rates for anesthesia services are 25-35% the amount received from commercial payers. […]

Do the Vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna Use Embryonic Stem Cells or Fetal Tissue? The Answer is No.

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Dispeling myths associated with Covid vaccine development. Compiled by Jean Covillo, DNAP(C), CRNA I have encountered a lot of folks who have expressed concern related to receiving these vaccines due to misinformation they have read regarding vaccine development and the erroneous belief that embryonic stem cells are used to make the vaccine.  I want to […]

CRNA Reimbursement Rates- How well do you fare?

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Tip:  The cart goes behind the horse! By Jean Covillo, DNAP (C), CRNA Many studies exist that address salaries and other compensation benefits associated with the CRNA profession when practicing as an employee or an independent contractor.1 But no published studies exist that address CRNA-led practices that receive compensation through direct billing reimbursement. The percentage […]