Medicare
The Joint Commission last week announced updates to its emergency management standards effective Nov.15.
Millions of Americans worry about the high costs of life-saving prescription drugs. That’s why 25 years ago, Congress created the 340B Drug Pricing Program to help hospitals expand access to prescription drugs and support essential services for our most vulnerable patients.
The program constitutes…
The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday voted 307-111 to repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board. The 15-member board was created by the Affordable Care Act to make recommendations on Medicare payment policy if the projected five-year average growth in per capita Medicare spending exceeds…
CMS Nov. 2 issued a final rule with comment period updating the requirements of the quality payment program (QPP) for physicians and other eligible clinicians mandated by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015. Select highlights follow in this Bulletin.
On Nov. 2, CMS released the calendar year (CY) 2018 physician fee schedule (PFS) final rule. In addition to the standard update to the payment system, the rule finalizes CMSs proposal to make significant additional site-neutral cuts in payment for services furnished in off-campus provider-based…
CMS issues final rule for CY 2018 MACRA physician QPP
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services late today issued its final rule for the physician fee schedule for calendar year 2018. CMS estimates a 0.41% increase in physician payment rates for 2018 compared to 2017, after applying a 0.5% payment increase required by the Medicare…
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Nov. 1 announced it will update the hospital outpatient prospective payment system rates by 1.35% in calendar year 2018 compared to CY 2017. The rule also finalizes CMS’s proposal to drastically cut Medicare payment for drugs that are acquired under…
In today's rule, CMS finalized a number of policies, including one that will adversely impact patient access to care by reducing Medicare rates for services hospitals provide in new off-campus hospital clinics.
On Nov. 1, the CMS released the calendar year 2018 outpatient prospective payment system/ambulatory surgical center final rule.