CMS Issues Proposed Medicare Payment Rules July 5, 2011 Medicare, News, Payment Medicare, Payment 0 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services unveiled its proposed 2012 payment rates for physicians, outpatient hospitals, and dialysis facilities last Friday. The measure would increase hospital outpatient rates, dramatically cut physician payments and link surgical center payment to quality. Notable changes include: Establishing a quality reporting program for hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers. Starting 2012, they would have to track eight quality measures that would inform Medicare reimbursements starting in 2014; Creating a process for certain physician-owned hospitals to request a waiver from the health care reform law’s expansion ban; Allowing eligible hospitals to participate in an electronic reporting pilot as part of the Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program; Outpatient payments get a 1.5 percent rate increase; ambulatory surgery centers 0.9 percent; dialysis facilities 1.8 percent; and, Physician payments would fall by 29.5 percent on January 1, 2012. Comments are due by August 30; final rules should come out November 1. Click here to review the CMS proposed rules. The press release from CMS can be found here. Comments are closed.
