Primary Care Providers

Articles with relevant information for Primary Care Providers (PCP).

Provider Alert!
26Nov

Provider Alert! Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Laboratory Web Portal

On October 25th, it was reported that the laboratory web portal application for public health experienced unexpected technical difficulties. It is currently not available and as a result, the provider report cards are unavailable at this time. While DSHS Laboratory is actively working on a solution, there is not a date for when the matter will be resolved. How this impacts providers: Texas Health Step Providers that normally receive results via the Laboratory Web Portal will have the reports mailed to...

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Provider Alert!
06Nov

Provider Alert! Acute Therapy Services

Acute Therapy Services Requests for acute occupational speech and physical therapy services will require documentation from the prescribing provider that a visit for the acute injury or acute exacerbation of the medical condition requiring therapy has occurred within the last 90 days. Acute speech therapy authorization will not require evidence of current Texas Health Steps well checkup for therapy treatment requests of 60 days or less. Therapy services for greater than 60 days will require evidence that the member is current in their...

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Provider Alert!
05Nov

Provider Alert! Syphilis testing laws updated effective 9/1/2019

Texas law now mandates three syphilis tests for all pregnant women: at the first prenatal exam, during the third trimester (no earlier than 28 weeks gestation), and at delivery.  This new testing is required because congenital syphilis cases reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) more than doubled last year.  There were 367 cases of congenital syphilis in Texas in 2018, up from 164 in 2017. The increase in reported cases is likely due to a combination...

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Provider Alert!
16Oct

Provider Alert! Dental Varnish Services

Date: October 16, 2019 Attention: Primary Care Providers Subject: Dental Varnish Services Call to action: Texas Children’s Health Plan (TCHP) identified an error in the reimbursement of dental varnish services.  This error may have resulted in non-payment of this service during a medical checkup for TCHP members who are 6 to 35 months of age.  An update to TCHP’s claims payment system is currently in process and all impacted claims will be reviewed and reprocessed for payment within the next 30 days. How this...

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Provider Alert!
16Oct

Provider Alert! Reimbursement Rate Changes for PCS, PDN & Therapy Services

Date: October 16, 2019 Attention: Home Health, Therapy and LTSS Providers Subject: Reimbursement Rate Changes for PCS, PDN & Therapy Services Effective Date: September 1, 2019 Call to action: On August 28, 2019, Texas Children’s Health Plan (TCHP) received notice of the rate changes from Texas Medicaid Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) effective September 1, 2019.  The services impacted by the Medicaid-implemented rate changes include: Personal Care Services (PCS) Private Duty Nursing (PDN) Therapies for Children in the Home Therapy Assistants TCHP is in the process of implementing the updates in...

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12Oct

Flu protection starts now

Influenza vaccines are available free-of-charge to enrolled providers through the Texas Vaccines for Children (TVFC) program for STAR, STAR Kids, and CHIP members birth through 18 years of age. Remind your Texas Children’s Health Plan patients that the influenza vaccine is a covered benefit. Texas Children’s Health Plan members who are age 7 years and older can also receive the influenza vaccine at a participating pharmacy. Click here for a list of pharmacies.

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Inovalon
07Oct

Understand your patients’ care gaps and improve your quality of care with the Inovalon HEDIS® Metrics Tool

Texas Children’s Health Plan PCPs and OB/GYN providers can now access data via the Inovalon HEDIS Metrics Tool through our Provider Portal. This new tool allows you to use performance and patient data so that you can independently manage your patient population, as well as improve the quality of disease management throughout your panel. Key features such as member-level gap reports and detailed HEDIS quality rates contribute to improving your provider incentive program rates. If you have any questions about Inovalon...

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Provider Alert!
01Oct

Provider Alert! DME/equipment/supplies exceeding Texas Medicaid Limitations

Effective October 1, 2019, Texas Children’s Health Plan will implement a prior authorization process for providers to request prior approval to provide DME/Equipment/Supplies to members 20 years of age and under in excess of benefit limitations. Texas Children’s Health Plan applies benefit limitations for DME/Equipment/Supplies in accordance with the Texas Medicaid Provider Procedure Manual (TMPPM) for all members eligible to receive the benefit, except for the following:   Next steps for providers: DME/Equipment/Supplies for a member who is 20 years of age or younger...

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21Sep

What does Service Coordination mean for your STAR Kids patients?

As a provider, you may have questions regarding the role Service Coordination plays in the lives of your STAR Kids patients. At Texas Children’s Health Plan, the goal of Service Coordination is to optimize health to ensure that the member’s tomorrow is better than his or her today. Service Coordination is a person-centered approach to care. Each of our members is assigned an appropriately licensed Service Coordinator. Our Service Coordinators are responsible for the following: Providing each member with initial and...

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10Sep

What is the Medically Dependent Children’s Program (MDCP) waiver?

If you have STAR Kids patients, there’s a chance some of them receive the Medically Dependent Children’s Program (MDCP) waiver, which is a home and community based services program. The goal of this program is to support families and children by preventing institutionalization and hospitalization, while helping them remain safely in their homes with the appropriate services. Examples of these services include: Flexible family support service Respite care Minor home modifications Adaptive aids Transition assistance services Employment assistance Supported employment Financial management services The purpose of enrolling a child...

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