Physicians, non-physician practitioners, providers and other health care professionals who bill Medicare carriers or fiscal intermediaries (FIs) for flu vaccines and vaccine administration

Provider Action Needed
Special Edition-0580 is published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to alert providers to influenza resources that are available to them and their patients. While some of these resources are not CMS-sponsored Web sites or products, they are respected informational sites and products sponsored by health care professionals.

CMS Resources
The following are CMS Web-based resources.

Immunization Educational Resource Web Guide
The Immunization Educational Resource Web Guide is one-stop shopping for informational and educational resources related to CMS immunization initiatives and is available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medlearn/refimmu.asp on the CMS Web site. Available resources include the following:

Medlearn Articles

• Article MM3936 provides guidelines for payment of vaccines and their administration at Renal Dialysis facilities.
• Article MM3618 provides information about billing vaccines.

Brochures
Adult Immunizations and Hepatitis Vaccine Benefits. This is a two-sided brochure that can be downloaded and printed.

Provider Education
The following publications address Medicare preventative services:

• How to Bill Medicare for Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccinations
• Medicare Preventive Services Educational Resource Web Guide
• Quick Reference Information: Medicare Preventive Services
• Medlearn Matters - articles intended to explain or clarify Program Memorandums (pre-10/01/2003) and Change Requests (10/01/2003 to present)
• Downloadable Publications Electronic versions of publications designed to aid in understanding the Medicare program
• Web-Based Training Modules (WBT) - Training courses covering various Medicare topics, including General Program Information, Payment Policy, Preventive Services, and Office Management Information

Other CMS Resources
Other helpful CMS resources include the following:

• 2005 Administrative Fee Allowances This publication describes the fees Medicare pays for flu vaccine administration.
• Medicare Preventive Services Influenza/Pneumococcal Immunizations Web Page: This Web page contains information and resources related to Adult Immunizations including immunization data, billing and coding instructions, and other resources.
• Fact Sheets and News Releases Regarding Medicare and Preventive Services
• Frequently Asked Questions

Other Resources
The following are resources that are not CMS Web sites but providers may find them useful.

American Lung Association ( ALA) Flu Center
The ALA flu center site is located at http://www.flucliniclocator.org/. This site enables individuals to input their zip code and find a flu clinic location in their area. Providers are able to add their flu clinic to this site by visiting http://lungusa2.org/embargo/flucliniclocator05/ on the Internet.

2-1-1 Information and Referral Service
The Consumer Education Working Group would like health care providers to know about another new resource to help citizens find a flu shot this fall. It is anticipated that this service will go hand-in-hand with the ALA’s Flu Locator site. Those who do not have Internet access can call the 2-1-1 information and referral service and the operator can then use the Flu Locator site to help the person find a nearby influenza clinic.

2-1-1 is an easily remembered telephone number that helps callers find critical health and human services available in their community. Callers can get answers to questions such as shelter locations after a natural disaster, traveler aid, emergency funding, or flu vaccination clinic locations.

2-1-1 serves approximately 139 million Americans - over 46 percent of the U.S. population. One hundred and seventy-one (171) active 2-1-1 systems cover all or part of 32 states (including 14 states with 100 percent coverage) plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico.

When this system is connected nationwide, it will provide easy access to social service resources for everyone. The technology ensures that a real person will answer every time – no recorded messages. Anyone with flu vaccine can register with a local 2-1-1 call center. The call center will include that information in their database and make it available to the community.

For more information about 2-1-1, go to http://www.211.org or http://www.airs.org on the Internet.

Influenza Pocket Guides/Information about Vaccines
Although hardcopy versions of the Influenza Pocket Guides are no longer available, electronic and camera ready versions are available, copyright free, and can be found at http://www.immunize.org/influenza/pocketguide.htm on the Internet.

Comprehensive information about vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases can be found at http://www.vaccineinformation.org on the Internet.

Disclaimer
This article was prepared as a service to the public and is not intended to grant rights or impose obligations. This article may contain references or links to statutes, regulations, or other policy materials. The information provided is only intended to be a general summary. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. We encourage readers to review the specific statutes, regulations and other interpretive materials for a full and accurate statement of their contents.

For more information, visit the Medlearn Matters Web page at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medlearn/matters/.

Related Change Request (CR) #: N/A
Medlearn Matters Number: SE0580

N/A Effective Date: N/A
N/A Implementation Date: N/A

Posted: 12/02/2005

CPT codes, descriptions, and other data only are copyright 2005 American Medical Association (or such other date of publication of CPT). All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Apply.