Hospital care at home signifies an important innovation in acute care delivery
Although the CMS Acute Hospital Care at Home program is still early in its development in the U.S., early adopters show evidence of the program’s exciting promise, including positive impacts on health outcomes, an improved patient and provider experience, reduced cost of care and overall healthcare savings.
In 2022 OPPS rule, CMS plans to reinstate policies pertaining to the inpatient-only and ASC covered-procedures lists
The 2022 proposed rule for the Outpatient Prospective Payment System would reverse 2021 policies that began to phase out the inpatient-only list of procedures and expand the covered-procedures list for ambulatory surgical centers.
CMS is preparing to make noncompliance with price transparency requirements much more expensive
A hospital with at least 550 beds would owe more than $2 million in penalties for a year of noncompliance with new price transparency requirements, according to a proposed rule.
CMS’s 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule: A look at telehealth provisions and overall payment rate changes
Clinicians will be able to seek payment for providing mental health visits to Medicare beneficiaries via audio-only telehealth, according to newly proposed regulations from CMS.
Newer payment models should be part of holistic transformation efforts, CMS deputy administrator says
Healthcare industry stakeholders can expect a new approach to how federal payment models are formulated, as a newly released rule for Medicare coverage of kidney care illustrates.
Healthcare leaders offer direction on key CMS inpatient proposals for FY 2022
HFMA offers direction to CMS on several of its key inpatient proposals for 2021 as many healthcare leaders have expressed concern about these proposals.
Hospital groups raise red flags about spending offsets in bipartisan infrastructure bill
The bill would be paid for in part by extending the duration of the 2% reduction in Medicare payments and by tapping into the Provider Relief Fund.
Medicare should update its policies for separately payable drugs in the Outpatient Prospective Payment System, MedPAC says
Worthwhile changes include requiring drugs to be proven clinically superior before granting them pass-through payment status, according to a new report.
Healthcare News of Note: Struggling rural hospitals have option to become stand-alone EDs to receive more funding
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: An upcoming option for rural hospitals to receive more funding, a key factor in outcomes of Black patients who receive COVID-19 care, and predictions about the hospital room of the future.
Medicare indirect medical education payments to teaching hospitals should be overhauled, MedPAC says
Although the proposals represent a significant change, most hospitals wouldn’t be projected to experience a large impact on their payments.