Inpatient surgery readmission trends during HRRP
Editor's Note Surgical readmission rates have declined in the past decade, and rates of decline increased during the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) period, this study finds. Between 2005 and 2014, rates of readmission across 8 targeted procedures declined from 12.2% to 8.6%. Before the Affordable Care Act, rates of readmission…
CMS extends deadline for eCQM data, EHR incentive program submission
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is notifying eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals that they now have until March 16 to attest for Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program requirements for CY 2017 and to submit electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) data for the…
Editorial
Uncertainty was the defining characteristic of the healthcare industry in 2017 as regulatory changes were proposed, rejected, revised, or tabled for now. The individual insurance mandate was repealed as part of a year-end tax reform bill—a victory for an administration that favors deregulation, but also a change that is projected…
CMS proposes coverage change for MRI with implanted cardiac devices
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on January 11 issued a proposal to modify its national coverage determination for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to include patients who have implanted cardiac devices. Proposed changes include the expansion of coverage for patients with cardiac devices that are approved or…
CMS announces new voluntary bundled payment model
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on January 9 announced a new voluntary bundled payment model called, “Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced” (BPCI Advanced). Participants in BPCI Advanced will receive payments for performance on 32 (29 inpatient, 3 outpatient) different clinical episodes. The first cohort…
CMS launches new data submission system for Quality Payment Program
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on January 2 that physicians and other eligible clinicians participating in the Quality Payment Program can begin submitting their 2017 performance data using a new system on the Quality Payment Program website (qpp.cms.gov). The new system is an improvement…
Editorial
Efforts in 2017 to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were largely unsuccessful, but a tax reform bill that includes a provision to abolish the ACA’s individual insurance mandate seems likely to pass. As a result, 13 million fewer Americans will be insured by 2027, and premiums will go up…
Where are you on the value-based care continuum?
Healthcare providers are straddling a variety of payment models while many regulatory changes remain in flux under the Trump Administration. Although the shift from fee-for-service to value-based payment began some years ago, not everyone is on board. Opinions about bundled payments also remain mixed, despite reports of improved outcomes and…
ASC quality reporting deadlines moved up in 2018
On November 1, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule for the 2018 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System/ASC Payment System and Quality Reporting Programs. In summary, several ambulatory surgery center (ASC) measures (ASC-1 to ASC-14) are unaffected, except that three measures (ASC-5, -6,…
Impact of reducing postop complications in bariatric Medicare patients
Editor's Note Hospitals with the largest reductions in serious complications after bariatric surgery had the greatest decrease in per-patient Medicare payments, this study finds. Analyzing 37,329 Medicare patients undergoing bariatric surgery from 2005 to 2006 and 2013 to 2014, researchers found a strong association between reductions in complications and decreased…
Free Daily News
- Healthcare’s “Blockbuster Moment:” Dr Dan Weberg to deliver opening keynote address at OR Manager Conference
- Hospital staffing report: Nurse turnover eases but vacancies, costs remain high
- Study: Bariatric surgery beats lifestyle changes for patients with cirrhosis, obesity
- CMS vision shifts as agency halts funding for state programs
- Low-cost blood test predicts cardiovascular event risk
- Hospital M&A activity drops to historic low amid economic and policy uncertainty
- GAO urges HHS to improve drug shortage response coordination
- Study: US maternal mortality rises 28% in 5 years, inequities persist
- Routine preop tests catch hidden risks in outpatient cosmetic surgery, Canadian study finds
- Study: Hospital same‑day knee replacements match ASC outcomes, even in higher‑risk patients