AABB Publication to Help Hospitals Properly Code, Bill For Blood Products, Services; 'Reimbursement Guide' Available at No Cost

4/1/2003

From: Jennifer Garfinkel or Emily Yu of the American Association of Blood Banks, 301-215-6526, publicrelations@aabb.org

BETHESDA, Md., April 1 -- To assist hospitals and transfusion services personnel in obtaining proper reimbursement for blood and blood products, the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), with support from the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) and its Blood Products and Technology Sector Advisory Committee, developed the AABB Reimbursement Guide for Blood Products and Services. This new publication -- available for free -- is intended to assist hospital administrators, clinicians, and billing and coding professionals resolve issues pertaining to coverage, and coding and reimbursement, thereby helping to ensure that hospitals bill accurately and completely for blood products and services.

"Current coding and billing systems are confusing and complex --which may deter hospitals from billing appropriately for blood and blood products," said Karen Shoos Lipton, chief executive officer of AABB. "It is our hope that this Reimbursement Guide will help clarify reimbursement procedures for hospital and transfusion services personnel so that the health-care system, in turn, will promptly and fairly pay for the state-of-the-art blood and transfusion services needed if we are to continue offering patients the highest quality of care."

AABB will be distributing the Reimbursement Guide to hospitals located throughout the United States. Individuals interested in obtaining a complimentary copy may do so by contacting AABB at 1-866-222-2498 or via email, sales@aabb.org. The Reimbursement Guide is posted in the "About the AABB/AABB Reimbursement Initiatives" section of AABB's Web site (http://www.aabb.org/About_the_AABB/Reimbursement/rei mbursement.htm) as will all future updates to this publication.

Every day in our country, blood is required in hospitals and emergency treatment facilities to save the lives of accident victims, patients with cancer and other diseases, as well as those undergoing routine surgeries. Ensuring the safety and quality of blood products is a formidable task, and the blood banking and transfusion medicine community is continuously striving to develop new technologies that provide for safeguards and checks throughout the chain of blood collection, processing, and use.

These cutting-edge technologies are costly, and, in recent years, economic pressures on our health care system have underscored the importance of appropriate third-party payment for blood products and services. AABB and others in the blood banking community have asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to simplify Medicare billing and reimbursement policies relating to blood -- making them easier to understand for the hospital staff that must complete the reimbursement paperwork -- so that patient access to advanced blood products and services is not jeopardized.

About AABB Established in 1947, the American Association of Blood Banks is an international association of blood banks, including hospital and community blood centers, transfusion and transplantation services and individuals involved in activities related to transfusion and transplantation medicine. The AABB supports high standards of medical, technical and administrative performance, scientific investigation, clinical application and education. It is dedicated to encouraging the voluntary donation of blood and other tissues and organs through education, public information and research. AABB member facilities are responsible for collecting virtually all of the nation's blood supply and transfusing more than 80 percent. Approximately 2,000 institutions (community and hospital blood banks, hospital transfusion services and laboratories) and 8,000 individuals are members of the AABB, including physicians, scientists, administrators, medical technologists, blood donor recruiters and public relations personnel. Members are located in all 50 states and 80 foreign countries.