CY 2022 OPPS/ASC Proposed Rule Summary

CMS released the calendar year 2022 proposed rule for Medicare’s hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) and ambulatory surgical center (ASC) payment system on July 19, 2021. Policies in the proposed rule will generally go into effect on January 1, 2022 unless otherwise specified. The proposed rule will be published in the August 4, 2021 issue of the Federal Register. The public comment period will end on September 17, 2021. The proposed rule updates OPPS payment policies that apply to outpatient services provided to Medicare beneficiaries by general acute care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, inpatient psychiatric facilities, long-term acute care hospitals, children’s hospitals, and cancer hospitals, as well as for partial hospitalization services in community mental health centers. Also included is the annual update to the ASC payment system and updates and refinements to the requirements for the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program and the ASC Quality Reporting Program. CMS is also making changes to its hospital price transparency initiative including increasing penalties for non-compliance. Changes to the Radiation Oncology  Model are included as well as requests for information on digital quality information, interoperability and rural emergency hospitals.