AMA voices support for OPPS site-neutral payment proposal

The American Medical Association yesterday expressed support for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ proposal to implement on Jan. 1 the site-neutral provisions of Section 603 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. With the exception of dedicated emergency department services, the section requires that services furnished in off-campus provider-based departments that began billing under the outpatient prospective payment system on or after Nov. 2, 2015 no longer be paid under the OPPS beginning in 2017, but under other applicable Part B payment systems. In the OPPS proposed rule for calendar year 2017, issued this week, CMS proposes to pay physicians providing services in a new off-campus PBD the non-facility PFS rate, meaning hospitals would receive no Medicare payment for these services. “Providing similar payments for similar professional services located outside of a hospital campus, regardless of facility ownership, could lead to a more level economic playing field and help preserve independent practice,” said AMA President Andrew Gurman, M.D.