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.
MedPAC report: Cost-based reimbursement isn’t an ideal way to sustain rural hospitals
An extensive healthcare policy report by the Medicare Payment and Advisory Commission includes a discussion about the drawbacks of cost-based Medicare reimbursement for rural hospitals.
CMS proposes to pull support from organ acquisitions: A grave threat to the future of U.S. organ transplants and donor programs
Transplant patient lives at risk under CMS’s proposal to stop supporting donor community hospitals excising organs for non-Medicare patients on waiting lists.
CMS nearly doubles the payment rate for administering the COVID-19 vaccine in a Medicare beneficiary’s home
A payment increase for in-home COVID-19 vaccine administration is part of a strategy to improve vaccination rates, which have slowed in recent weeks.