Book excerpt: A bestseller for over 25 years, this text helps users excel at all aspects of insurance billing: submitting, tracing, appealing, and transmitting claims. Its comprehensive coverage also includes important information on diagnostic coding, procedural coding, office and insurance collection strategies, Medicare, Managed Care, and more. This edition has been reviewed by industry experts and carefully updated to reflect recent changes in the industry - including the addition of special HIPAA Compliance Alerts throughout the book to help users comply with important governmental privacy regulations. Instructor resources are available; please contact your Elsevier sales representative for details. Icons help students identify each insurance payer with a specific color and graphic, making the learning process more effective. Emphasizes procedural (CPT and HCPCS) and diagnostic (ICD-9-CM) coding and documentation since they are the keystones to obtaining maximum reimbursement. Block-by-block teaching approach organized by payer category for the CMS-1500 claim form facilitates understanding, effective learning, and greater productivity. Detailed examples and samples of completed insurance forms help students see how knowledge is applied in the real world. Accompanying CD-ROM of practice software bound in the back of the book features the CMS-1500 claim form and 10 scored patient case studies with related insurance information to simulate real-life situations. Updated to reflect recent changes in the industry. Special sections highlight areas pertinent to HIPAA regulations.