JN Part B Provider Outreach and Education (POE) Advisory Group (AG) meeting minutes

Jurisdiction N

Medicare Part B

March 12, 2026

Welcome and introductions

Janice Mumma, supervisor, welcomed the members, reviewed disclaimers, copyright, and highlighted acronyms. Janice reviewed the agenda that was sent ahead. She introduced Education Specialist Bradley Bohner and Technical Writer Ann Haden. Janice reviewed the purpose of POE AG with an emphasis on committee guidelines and receiving provider feedback.

Prior quarter education activities

The prior quarter activities were reviewed with Attachment 1 provided. The attachment has the webinar titles, dates, and attendee counts for highest to lowest attended events.

Janice asked about attendance of webinars listed then opened the floor for feedback, comments, or suggestions. 

Audience commented about 10 a.m. webinars conflicting as that is a popular meeting time. Suggestions were made by attendees to start webinars at 8:30 a.m. and/or 3 p.m. An attendee asked if the team could offer same webinar twice on the same day, morning and afternoon. Another comment was made that sufficient time was not left for questions at a recent webinar; a different attendee said educators always follow up on questions not answered at end of webinar. 

Detailed webinar Adverse History and Adverse Legal Action.

CMS.gov

Janice reviewed CMS.gov, specifically: Medicare Learning Network and CMS Newsroom Press Release websites. These pages offer the latest information on what is happening in the Medicare world. Attendees are encouraged to review for the most up-to-date releases.

The MLN has been restructured, and Janice shared screens to review how to access Medicare Learning Network and CMS Newsroom. She pointed out the ease of use with a reminder about newsletters. 

CMS Newsroom

A favorite place to review latest and greatest news and information.

Current and upcoming items

First Coast Learning Center:

2026 education strategy

Janice shared resources utilized to build the multi-faceted educational approach that includes subjects that are relevant and requested by providers.

First Coast offers a wide array of educational opportunities. The topics offered through live webinars are specialty specific and widespread, incorporating real-time Medicare requirements, processes, as well as instructions regarding how to prevent frequent and costly errors.

StayConnected and Medicare Navigator series 

The StayConnected webinar workshop series consists of topically related events focused on outlining CMS requirements, including coverage, billing, etc. StayConnected topic focused workshop series will take place within a one-week period. 

The Medicare Navigator webinar workshop series consists of events focused on assisting providers navigate to, identify, perform, and submit necessary Medicare tasks. 

Janice shared that the team received feedback related to collecting badges being problematic when scheduling was spread out at once a month over the year. The action taken regarding that feedback is that the series will now occur within one month to allow focus and flexibility. Medicare Navigator Badges will continue, and Janice detailed options to receive badges for attendance. She described some of the subjects offered this year.

Upcoming events

The upcoming topics for 2026 were reviewed. Janice encouraged the audience to watch the events calendar for monthly updates. She reminded everyone that the events are free and there will be scheduling opportunities 60 days ahead.

On-Demand Learning

First Coast has a number of on-demand learning resources. These resources are intended for participation in Medicare education that is self-paced and scheduled with flexibility. First Coast is constantly adding new webinar recordings. 

Click and play videos and webinar recordings are updated monthly.

Social media 

Social media is part of the 2026 educational strategy. First Coast is active in social media platforms LinkedIn and YouTube. Subscribe today and please promote these social media tools to colleagues. 

Provider Contact Center training closures and training topics

Janice reminded the audience that the Provider Contact Center (PCC) currently closes for training every Thursday from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. ET to provide education to representatives. 

Janice opened the floor for feedback on closure timing and/or topics related to educational needs or strategy. No comments were made.

2026 Medicare Participating Physicians/Suppliers Directory (MEDPARD)

Brad introduced the MEDPARD directory available on the First Coast website with a screen share instruction on how to access the look up tool.

Prior Authorization Code Lookup tool

Brad discussed prior authorization or prepayment review as used under the WISeR model. He mentioned using the Prior Authorization Code Lookup tool to determine if a code is subject to any active prior authorization program in Medicare. He spoke about Prior Authorization of Certain Services in Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) that became available for certain states as of January 19, 2026, and February 16, 2026. There will be a webinar in April on this topic.

Brad shared the First Coast website to highlight the new provider roadmap and other helpful resources.

During discussion of website tools, an attendee commented on the fee schedule list not being in numerical order and not allowing filter or sorting (PDF).

Another suggestion was made to spend time during webinars to show attendees how to use applicable resources on First Coast site instead of only providing links.

Comprehensive error rate testing (CERT)

CMS developed the CERT program to calculate the Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) program improper payment rate. 

Brad spoke about resources to help providers navigate the CERT program: CERT Insider's Guide and CERT Fast Facts. Both publications can be accessed from the CERT center on First Coast's website. The Insider's Guide is issued quarterly, and the Fast Facts is issued monthly. Brad shared that First Coast uses CERT information to curate educational information to ensure our strategies are supporting providers' success. 

He opened the floor for comments or questions on CERT and there were none. Brad shared a report in a screen share for the audience.

A comment was made in chat by an attendee that had gone through CERT audit. They stated "I went through a cert two years ago. I learned so much. It was the best experience I've ever had doing an audit."

Medicare updates 2026 review updates in PP

Brad detailed 2026 Medicare updates that became effective around or on January 1, 2026: 

• Medicare deductible, coinsurance, and premium rates for calendar year

• Per-beneficiary threshold amounts for physical therapy (PT), speech language pathology (SLP), occupational therapy (OT) and medical review (MR) 

• Therapy code list

• Ambulance inflation factor and productivity adjustment for calendar year

• Clotting factor furnishing fee annual update

• Quarterly Average Sales Price (ASP) Part B drug pricing and revisions to prior pricing files

• Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule and services subject to reasonable charge payment

• New waived tests

• Travel allowance fees for specimen collection

• National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edits

   

Brad showed the NCCI Procedure to Procedure Lookup Tool and asked audience to engage if they use it. He reviewed the NCCI quarterly updates.

Presentation slides are sent to all attendees containing details on each change reviewed at meeting.

Preventative services: Keeping patients healthy

Brad encouraged the attendees to share preventative education tools and reviewed features on the interactive preventive services tool. He referenced the ease of using CMS MLN page with SPOT in collaboration for preventative care. There will be a Medicare Preventive Service webinar on March 25, 2026.

Open discussion

No questions were asked, and no additional comments came from the audience.

Attendees will receive all slides reviewed at this meeting.

Janice announced the next meeting is scheduled for July 16, 2026, and November 12, 2026.

 

Please email Janice Mumma at Janice.mumma@novitas-solutions.com, if you have additional comments or suggestions.