Split (or shared) visits—the current term used by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)—allow non-physician practitioners (NPPs) and physicians who work for the same employer/entity to share patient visits on the...more
On November 2, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the calendar year (CY) 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule which, among other policy and regulatory changes, finalized...more
There are three things that cannot be stopped: time, gravity, and the increasing complexity of the Stark Law. To be fair, complexity has not been the goal of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Rather, Stark's...more
On July 13, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the calendar year (CY) 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) proposed rule (Proposed Rule). The Proposed Rule sets forth CMS’ plans to revise...more
Compliance Today (March 2021) - On January 7, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Learning Network released the following physician fee schedule update...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 43 (December 7, 2020) - In the 2021 final Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) rule, CMS made both permanent and temporary changes to supervision, telehealth and other provisions,...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 28, no. 40 (November 11, 2019) - CMS has given the green light to prior authorization for five types of procedures in an attempt to control “unnecessary increases” in these procedures as part...more
Despite a court ruling against its site-neutral policy in September 2019, in the Calendar Year (CY) 2020 Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) final rule, released on November 1, 2019, the Centers for Medicare...more
• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the Calendar Year (CY) 2020 Proposed Rule for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). The MPFS dictates Medicare rates and policies under Part B, while the...more
• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published the Calendar Year (CY) 2019 Final Rule for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), which includes provisions related to Medicare physician payments as well...more
On Nov. 2, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule changing reimbursement rates under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) for certain non-excepted hospital off-campus provider-based...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Nov. 1, 2017, released the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and the Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System Final Rule for...more
On November 2, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), released the 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule, which finalized a number of new policies designed to improve Medicare payment for...more
In the CY 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (CY 2017 MPFS), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued proposed updates to the physician self-referral law (Stark law). The primary Stark law update focused on...more
CMS Provides Update Regarding Patient Status Review Delay – On July 27, 2016 CMS posted an update regarding Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) reviews of patient status claims, which are currently paused. CMS notes that...more
For those in the hospital industry hoping for additional clarity regarding the operation and billing of provider-based departments (PBDs), the CY 2017 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Proposed Rule provides some...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published its 2017 Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule on July 14, 2016 (the Proposed Rule). In part, the Proposed Rule addresses CMS’s...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) have reviewed the use of Modifier 25 to unbundle payments for evaluation and management (E/M) services when a procedure is...more
On July 6, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its CY 2017 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Proposed Rule. The Proposed Rule includes several provisions regarding how CMS will...more
On June 14, 2016, during its annual meeting in Chicago, the American Medical Association’s (AMA) House of Delegates approved a resolution recommending the overhaul of CMS’s physician payment rate determination methodologies,...more
Continuing in its efforts to promote alternative payment models, on April 11, 2016, CMS announced the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) model. CMS hopes to implement CPC+ in up to 20 regions, accommodating up to 5,000...more
On November 2, 2015, President Obama signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, a two-year budget deal with a key provision affecting hospitals and other health care providers. Effective January 1, 2017, the Act decreases the...more
On November 27, 2013, CMS released a 1,369 page display copy of the CY 2014 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule. The final rule, which was delayed because of the government shut-down in October, is scheduled to...more
On the day before Thanksgiving and a little over one month after the end of the government shutdown, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a rule finalizing revisions to payment policies under the...more