Editor's Note Though the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is rolling back mandatory bundled-payment programs, it is expected to release more voluntary, outpatient-focused programs, which shifts power from hospitals to physicians, the August 21 Healthcare Finance News reports. Physician-focused does not require a hospitalization, which creates a complete…

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Editor's Note ChartLogic (Salt Lake City) is reporting that as of August 9, 2017, a total of  419 ICD-10 codes were added, 273 codes were revised, and 123 codes were being deleted, according to the August 15 Becker’s Hospital CFO Report. The changes are slated for implementation on October 1,…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program has only seen a drop in readmissions by 0.1% from 2013 to mid-2016, which has industry experts and hospital leaders questioning its purpose, the August 12 Modern Healthcare reports. The Affordable Care Act mandated program, which…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced August 7 that hospitals and critical access hospitals participating in  Medicare’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program will submit their “meaningful use” data via QualityNet rather than the EHR Incentive Program Registration and Attestation System beginning January 2, 2018,…

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Editor's Note The push by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to transform healthcare delivery at community health centers to value-based care is increasing staff dissatisfaction and burnout, this study finds. From 2013 to 2014, clinicians and staff at 296 centers reported statistically significant declines in multiple measures…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on August 2 issued the FY 2018 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System final rule, which updates Medicare payment and policies when patients are discharged from hospitals. The rule increases rates by 1.2%. This includes an initial market-basket update of 2.7%…

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Editor's Note From 2005 to 2014, the average inflation-adjusted cost of a hospital inpatient stay increased by 12.7%, from $9,500 to $10,900, according to new statistics from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Average costs for stays increased: 16% for Medicaid 18% for private insurance 8% for Medicare…

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Editor's Note Reductions in readmissions associated with the Affordable Care Act have not had the unintended consequence of increasing mortality after hospital discharge, finds this study. Analysis of more than 5 million Medicare patients hospitalized for heart failure, heart attack, or pneumonia, found that reductions in hospital 30-day readmission rates…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 13 issued the CY 2018 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System proposed rule. CMS is proposing an update of 1.9% for ASCs, which is a combination of a 2.3% inflation update…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on July 13 issued a proposed rule that updates payment rates and policy changes in the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System. Among the proposals are that Medicare pay for knee replacement procedures performed in outpatient…

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