This week’s updates include a survey and certification letter for the adoption of 2012 Life Safety and Health Care Facilities Code; the July 2016 updates to the Integrated Outpatient Code Editor and hospital OPPS; and more!
CMS proposed an extensive five-year, two-phase plan to overhaul Part B drug payments for physicians and hospitals in March outside of the normal OPPS rulemaking cycle that could be implemented as early as this fall.
Last year, as ICD-10 implementation approached, organizations throughout the U.S. reported varying levels of comfort with regard to readiness and understanding of the impact of ICD-10 on physician workflow. For some, it was business as usual. For other physicians, ICD-10 became one more check box on the list of reasons to leave practice.
Few in the healthcare industry would argue that the way the government currently pays for drugs is the most cost-effective, efficient, and equitable method possible.
On March 31, CMS released special edition MLN Mattersarticle SE1607 regarding new enforcement editing requirements for the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual (Internet-Only Manual 100-02), Chapter 6, section 70.3, which describes coverage and billing of Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) services. This guidance is likely due to the significant problems with PHP service claims and coding highlighted in the 2016 proposed and final OPPS rules. This guidance is effective for PHP services furnished on or after July 1.
