cms sends out ‘notice of revocation’ letters related to surety bonds

Recently,  Notice of Revocation letters that were sent by the NSC to several ophthalmic practices. According to the NSC, on August 21, 2009, thousands of letters were mailed to suppliers, including ophthalmologists, whose NSC file indicated a surety bond or accreditation was required. For most practices, the letters were sent because their NSC file did not reflect Ophthalmologist, Physician, or Optometrist—specialties qualifying for the surety bond exemption—but rather listed Optician as the supplier type. For those that did not contact the NSC customer service center to make a correction to their supplier type on form CMS 855S, a Notice of Revocation letter was sent.

According to the NSC, if a supplier has received a Notice of Revocation, they must follow the instructions on the letter by submitting either a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) within 30 days of the postmark of the letter or a Reconsideration within 60 days of the postmark of the letter to avoid revocation and a one-year ban from participation in the Medicare program.  The CAP must specifically state the supplier is submitting a CAP or Reconsideration. The appropriate sections of the CMS 855S form that practices should update to change their Primary Specialty are section 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A1, 2B (Type of Supplier), 3 and Section 15.

ASCRS/ASOA may call the organizaiton’s Government Relations Department at 703-591-2220 if they received an letter and have questions.

Source: ASCRS/ASOA

which managers are exempt from overtime pay?

Most managers don’t get paid overtime.  But as one company recently learned the hard way, the key word is “most.” More than 1,400 store managers recently sued Family Dollar Stores, Inc., to recover back pay for lost OT wages.   The employees regularly worked 60-70 hours a week, but, like most employees classified as managers, they were considered exempt.

Store managers were the highest ranking employees in their respective locations. They were “in charge” of all the employees in their store, so the company argued they qualified for the executive exemption. But that wasn’t enough for the court – it’s the actual duties of a position that matter for the exemption, not title or position in a hierarchy. And in this case:

• Store managers were closely supervised by district managers
• They spent about 80% of their time on manual tasks like running registers, stocking shelves, cleaning the store and unloading trucks, and
• Virtually all managerial decisions, such as scheduling shifts, setting store hours, and hiring and firing employees, were made by district managers — store managers simply carried out those decisions.

The court ruled in favor of the employees. Family Dollar was forced to give the managers a total of $35 million for unpaid OT.

So which managers need to be paid OT? The court cited the FLSA’s criteria for the executive exemption. To be exempt, managers must:

• be paid a salary of at least $455 per week
• have management as a “primary duty”
• direct the work of at least two full-time employees (or an equivalent number of part-timers) and
• have the authority to hire, fire and promote — or at least have significant influence on those decisions.

Cite: Morgan v. Family Dollar Stores, Inc. Source: BusinessBrief.com

feds plan 6,000 business audits; what they’re looking for

The Internal Revenue Service is calling it “the National Research Program on employment tax compliance.” What it amounts to is a far-reaching audit program to dig up business-tax revenues.

Here are the two main areas that are going under the IRS spotlight:

• Improper worker classification. The agency is mainly concerned with workers classified as independent contractors because the classification affects the revenue state governments receive to pay for unemployment benefits.
• So-called nonconforming benefits. Those are benefits that could be considered wages subject to employment taxes. The typical targets: personal use of company vehicles, employee discounts, employer-provided housing and meals, accident and health benefits, educational assistance and stock-based compensation. Reimbursed expenses, in order to be tax-free and deductible, must generally be reasonable, have a business connection, include reasonable accounting for the expenses, and all excess reimbursement should be repaid within a reasonable time.

IRS has announced that it will be looking at mainly tax records for 2007 and 2008, but that doesn’t mean other years are exempt from examination. The announcement about the program was first made by the agency’s Anita Bartels at the Annual Congress of the American Payroll Association.

Source: BusinessBrief.com

Selling Strategies: create a thirst for what you recommend

A salesperson was trying to explain his sales slump to his CEO. “You know,” he said, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” “Make him drink?” the CEO smiled. “Your job is to make him thirsty.”

Here are tips from Wesley Forcier, sales consultant and author, to create  thirst in the minds of your prospects and customers:

• Try not to dwell on what your product does. Focus on the help you can provide.
• Show you have more expertise than the buyer, since greater knowledge is the key to the sale.
• Be consistent in all you say and do. Show you have an unvarying set of values and standards, since that promotes trust.
• Time your best points. If  prospects seems skeptical, start with your strongest argument as an attention-getter so they listen. If you get an initial favorable response, use your strongest argument as the end, when you call for action.
• Use open discussion to ease negative reactions. If prospects show negative emotions, try to get those feelings out in the open. Then deal with them logically and calmly.
• Pay attention. Force yourself to tune out distractions and concentrate on the prospect. Listen for clues to uncover hidden needs and ask questions to bring them out in the open.
• Avoid trying to solve problems without the right information. Get the information first. Don’t assume you know the answer and then try to find evidence to support your guess.

Source: BusinessBrief.com

AAO launches “EyeSmart EyeCommitted” program for diabetics

The EyeSmart™campaign has launched a new initiative to promote diabetic eye health: EyeSmart EyeCommitted. The centerpiece of this effort is an interactive pledge application where users can highlight their commitment to diabetic eye health. Show your support for the importance of an annual diabetic eye exam by taking the pledge yourself and encouraging your staff and patients to do so as well. To take the EyeCommitted pledge online and learn more about the program on the AAO website click here .