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BLUECONNECT
Providers
March 2024
In This Issue
► March news: Executive summary
► CMS changes delay annual fee schedule updates
► AZ Blue welcomes you to the Availity Essentials portal
► Introducing two new code edits
► Prior authorization updates effective April 1
► Where to find FEP UM guidelines
March news: Executive summary
Happy Doctors' Day from all of us at AZ Blue!
March news highlights
AZ Blue leaders continue to meet daily to review updates about the Change Healthcare cybersecurity incident and our response activities. Our azbluefacts.com/changehealthcare/providers page shares provider support information, including Provider FAQs. 

Good news! Dignity Health has accepted our final offer and as of March 15, 2024, is once again in the AZ Blue provider network. Our thanks to Dignity Health for joining us in standing up for affordability.

To make it easier for members to access care, our Clinical Excellence team has removed several codes from the commercial prior authorization code lists. See the article for more information.

We’re making good progress on our implementation of the Availity Essentials provider portal. You’re invited to find us there for eligibility and benefits, claim submission, EFT enrollment/changes, and claim status transactions. Read more.  

In case you missed the inspiring session with Stephen Swensen, M.D., you can now access his Leading with Kindness presentation via the Arizona Community Grand Rounds webpage.
Recognize your champions of nursing!
Do you partner with extraordinary nurses who deserve to be recognized for their work? Please nominate them for our upcoming Nurses Who Inspire contest! Details will be coming soon—nominations open April 1 on azblue.com. 
Reminders
• Starting April 1, Arizona Priority Care (AZPC) will support some of our 2024 Medicare Advantage HMO plan members. Please be sure to check the back of the member ID card for the applicable contact information for prior auth requests, inpatient admission notifications, claim filing, claim status, and remits. For more details, check out our revised 2024 MA overview.
• The ACA StandardHealth with Health Choice plan (prefix IAZ) is supported by the ACA Health Choice team. For resources, your teams can visit standardhealthhc.com. We also offer a provider introduction and this overview of our ACA plans.  
CEU opportunities (at no cost)
1. Arizona Community Grand Rounds: Next up is a session on Human Flourishing with Teri Pipe, Ph.D., RN. REGISTER NOW for this April 3 exploration of how and why flourishing at the individual and systemic levels is vital for personal, professional, and community well-being. Teri Pipe is the Richard E. Sinaiko Professor in Health Care Leadership at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing. She is also dean emerita of the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University and the founding director of ASU’s Center for Mindfulness, Compassion, and Resilience.  
2. Ready to hear some great ideas about how to help your patients with chronic conditions? We invite you to enroll in the complimentary American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) “Essentials” course (5.5 CME/CE credits). See what Dr. Cara Christ, AZ Blue CMO, shared after she took the course. It’s all about becoming more effective in preventing, treating, and even reversing the progression of chronic disease. Please share this opportunity with your staff and use promo code ESS-BCBSAZ when you register.  
3. You can still join the Mountain ECHO Academy virtual “all-teach, all-learn” educational sessions! They’re held on the first, second, and third Monday of the month, through May 2024 (one CEU per session).

Substance Use Disorders – first Mondays, noon-1 p.m.
Trauma in Children – second Mondays, noon-1 p.m.
Social Determinants of Health – third Mondays, noon-1 p.m.
 
REGISTER at Mountain ECHO–BCBSAZ Health Choice (healthchoiceaz.com).
4. Behavioral health providers who work with patients living with or at high risk for diabetes can access free continuing education courses through the American Diabetes Association® (ADA). Visit the ADA’s website for more information and resources.    
For more information about these updates, contact us at 602-864-4231 or 1-800-232-2345, ext. 4231, or reach out to your Provider Relations Contact. 
In This Issue
► March news: Executive summary
► CMS changes delay annual fee schedule updates
► AZ Blue welcomes you to the Availity Essentials portal
► Introducing two new code edits
► Prior authorization updates effective April 1
► Where to find FEP UM guidelines
Arizona Priority Care is a separate, independent company that provides services to AZ Blue Medicare Advantage HMO members and network providers.

American Diabetes Association is a trademark of American Diabetes Association, Inc.

© 2024 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Inc. All rights reserved.

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