Monday, October 19th, 2009
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued, Oct. 7, a correction document to the 2010 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) for acute care hospitals and Long Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS) final rule. Make hospital billing staff aware of these corrections, which include changes to important compliance dates and payment rates. Read more »
Monday, October 5th, 2009
The 46 percent cut in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) reimbursement and 22 percent inrease in positron emission tomography (PET) reimbursement the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing for 2010 has some speculating a significant rise in demand for cardiac PET in the coming years. Read more »
Monday, October 5th, 2009
New anti-self-referral rules in the Stark law went into effect Oct. 1. Being unprepared or remaining ignorant of these revisions may cause some physician-hospital arrangements to fall out of compliance, according to AMNews (Sorrel, 9/28). Read more »
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
Changes to the Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems (IPPS) for acute care and long-term care hospitals and 2010 payment rates were published in a final rule Aug. 27 in the Federal Register. Read more »
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
The 2010 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Final Rule, released July 31, provides acute care hospitals with an inflation update of 2.1 percent in their 2010 payment rates. The documentation and coding adjustment the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed in May has been put on hold.
Monday, July 6th, 2009
The 2009 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule includes several significant changes to the Stark law that are slated to go into effect Oct. 1.
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed, July 1, several policy and payment rate changes for hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) for fiscal year 2010. Payment rate increases for providers paid under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and expanded coverage for certain Medicare services furnished in HOPDs and ASCs are projected in the 2010 proposed rule. Read more »
Thursday, June 18th, 2009
New, revised and invalid diagnosis and procedure codes effective Oct. 1, 2009 have been finalized. An updated list of ICD-9-CM codes was posted on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Web site June 10. Several codes included in the update were not listed in the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule for 2010, but will appear in the final rule.
Friday, June 12th, 2009
An expansion of the 453.x (embolism and thrombosis) range should help you precisely select your ICD-9-CM codes in 2010.
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
If you are looking for an indicator as to the state of the American economy, you need look no further than the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule for 2010. Issued May 1 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the proposed rule includes meager payment updates for approximately 3,500 acute care hospitals paid under the IPPS and 400 long-term care hospitals paid under the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS), a few revisions mandated by legislation, and little else.
The bottom line: Affected acute care hospitals will experience an overall $979 million decrease for operating and capital payments in 2010.
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