The Michigan Department of Community Health is sponsoring free online training for the 27,000 healthcare providers who bill Medicaid in preparation for the new Medicaid Uniform Billing requirements that go into effect August 1. Developed and hosted by Michigan Virtual University, the course is available now at http://healthcare.mivu.org.

"We are sponsoring this training to ensure that those who conduct the billing services for health care providers who participate in the Medicaid program will be ready for uniform billing on August 1," said Michigan Department of Community Health Director James K. Haveman, Jr. "During legislative hearings, the health care community urged us to move to this standardized, electronic system to improve the way reimbursements were made."

Medicaid Uniform Billing is another step toward compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It simplifies Medicaid billing, adopts health care industry claim formats and standard code sets and encourages electronic processing. The August 1 implementation is for physicians, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, clinics, certified nurse practitioners, vision services, clinical laboratory services and ambulance services who file claims to Medicaid fee-for-service, Medicaid health plans and Children's Special Health Care Services.

The online course, "Using the HCFA 1500 Form For Medicaid Claims," is completely self-paced, can be started anytime at the convenience of the participant and takes about 90 minutes to complete. Those who score 100 percent on the optional self-assessment may request a certificate from Michigan Virtual University. The Michigan Community College Association is working with Michigan Virtual University to develop a face-to-face, classroom-based version of the course and online faculty guide, and other online courses for the health care profession.

Michigan Virtual University is a private, non-profit corporation established in 1998 by Governor Engler and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to provide e-learning opportunities for Michigan's workforce. It does not grant degrees or teach courses, but acts as a broker of programs made available by Michigan education institutions and commercial training providers. It provides e-learning solutions and custom development for businesses and organizations. For more information, visit www.mivu.org.