Medicare

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…
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.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently issued guidance on attesting to information blocking prevention under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday suspended certain Medicare enrollment screening requirements for health care providers and suppliers assisting with wildfire recovery efforts in California. According to the agency, non-certified Medicare Part B physicians and other…