HBMA Congratulates NCDS Medical Billing on Compliance Reaccreditation

WASHINGTON - June 8, 2021 - PRLog -- Today the Healthcare Business Management Association (HBMA) announced that NCDS Medical Billing has earned re-accreditation under the HBMA Compliance Accreditation Program for revenue cycle management (RCM) companies and offered its congratulations. The program is designed to assess compliance with a range of federal healthcare industry regulations, including provisions to protect patient privacy under HIPAA, promote cybersecurity, and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in medical billing.

Based in Cleveland, Ohio, NCDS Medical Billing is an RCM company that serves immunization clinics, physician practices, therapy and rehabilitation clinics, and mental and behavioral health providers throughout 15 states across the United States. Commenting on this important accolade, Mick Polo, President of NCDS, "The HBMA Compliance Accreditation Program and reaccreditation process has enabled NCDS to enhance our privacy and security and take these measures to the next level. Moreover, this sought-after accreditation is a testament to our firm dedication to achieving a high standard for traditional compliance while allowing us to adapt to the new challenges presented by the Covid-19 global pandemic and associated regulations. I remain grateful to our hard-working and passionate team members, as well as our valued industry partners for this noteworthy accomplishment."

"HBMA recognizes that in medical billing and revenue cycle management the security threats and federal regulations are continually expanding and evolving. There are severe consequences for not staying current in this environment. When a company earns HBMA Compliance Accreditation by independent evaluation, it is only valid for one year.  To renew their accreditation, NCDS Medical Billing had to pass another independent evaluation to verify that it still surpasses federal regulations and employs best practices to protect confidential patient medical information, safeguard their data systems, and prevent fraud," said Emily Osetek, CHBME, FRBMA, president of HBMA.

Healthcare providers trust and rely on RCM companies to ensure the privacy and security of their protected health information (PHI) and to operate with billing policies and practices that meet regulatory requirements. The program independently assesses the participating company's program to fulfill those obligations. Because change in healthcare and its regulatory environment are constant, accreditation must be earned annually to meet new guidelines and requirements.

The program assesses compliance with HIPAA and with HHS Office of Inspector General compliance standards on fraud, waste and abuse; the Stark Law, which is designed to prevent conflicts of interest by medical providers in their prescribed patient care; federal anti-kickback law; and the OIG work plan. The assessment under the program includes an annual comprehensive evaluation of the policies and practices of RCM companies regarding employee training; security risks, including the security of confidential patient health information; documentation storage and handling; practices to promote compliance with federal regulations; disaster and emergency preparedness plans; and human resources practices, background check procedures and onboarding.

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