CMS delays activating certain OPPS claims edits

As urged by the AHA, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has delayed until Oct. 1 system edits that would require hospitals and health systems with multiple locations to include on outpatient prospective payment system claims for services provided in off-campus provider-based departments the exact same provider address entered in the Medicare Provider, Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System for that location. The edits were scheduled to take effect this month. “Based on stakeholder comments and to allow additional time to review the round 3 testing, however, CMS has decided to postpone full production implementation for three additional months until October 2019,” the agency said. For more on the upcoming changes, see the AHA’s recent Regulatory Advisory and watch for an AHA advisory on the updated timeline.