News & Analysis

October 1, 2016
HIM Briefings

The fiscal year (FY) 2017 IPPS final rule was released August 2 and will be published in the Federal Register August 22. The majority of the finalized updates are consistent with those outlined in the proposed rule, but with a few refinements to applicable time periods. The final rule expands and refines the number of claims-based ­outcomes linked to payment under these programs.

Effective October 1, 2017, performance for cost and quality measures in the HRRP, HVBP, and HACRP will impact up to 6% of your hospital's inpatient acute Medicare fee-for-service reimbursement.

So, where to begin? First, become familiar with the measure specifications and risk-adjustment methodologies, in addition to existing CMS provided reports on historical performance, to gain insights into your organization's clinical documentation and coding vulnerabilities.

Measure specifications can be found at: www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/....

The final rule is available here: www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection.

September 28, 2016
Medicare Insider

This week’s note from the instructor is about changes resulting from the hospital readmission reduction program.

September 27, 2016
News & Insights

I heard the 2-midnight rule is now gone based on changes to Medicare payment rates under the 2017 inpatient prospective payment system final rule. Is this true and if not what changed?

September 6, 2016
News & Insights

Is there any reason why an inpatient-only procedure would be performed on an outpatient?

August 12, 2016
News & Insights

The August 2 issue of Revenue Cycle Daily Advisor included a question about benchmark conversion rates from observation to inpatient status. With regard to that question, I think it may be helpful to know the average national conversion rate and average rate for critical access hospitals. Do you have that information?

August 11, 2016
News & Insights

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