The overall monthly national healthcare spending rate modestly increased 4.3% from August 2016 to August 2017, with a notable increase in home health spending, according to a brief from Altarum’s Center for Sustainable Health Spending.
This week’s Medicare updates include the announcement of the Part A and Part B premiums and deductibles for 2018, clarification on new Conditions of Participation regarding home health agency subunits, a proposed decision memo on conditions of coverage for implantable cardioverter defibrillators, and more!
Physicians may be angry at the increased documentation, coding, and billing workflow and compliance activities they must perform to be successful in new reimbursement models. However, to avoid accustations of fraud and upcoding, they must develop their own OIG-recommended compliance plan and be open to rigorous feedback and advice.
This April, CMS made a switch, changing the volume of charts allowed for Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) short-stay audits. Prior to this change, the number of charts selected for audit ranged from 10 charts for small hospitals to 25 charts for larger hospitals. Now, the 175 hospitals with the highest volume of short stays will have 25 charts audited, while hospitals with a “Major Concern” rating on a previous audit will receive a request for 10 charts.
