The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 includes the Physician Update Fix, which essentially provides a 0% Medicare change for 2013. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is currently revising the 2013 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) to reflect the new law’s requirements as well as technical corrections identified since publication of the final
Medicare & Reimbursement
OIG Approves Per Diem Call Pay
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Compliance, Medicare & Reimbursement
OIG Advisory Opinion No. 12-15 has approved an existing arrangement under which a hospital pays physicians a per diem fee for providing on call ER coverage.
Under the arrangement, the hospital pays per diem fees to 130 specialty physicians on staff who provide on-call services, including:
· telephone consultations;
· in-person consultations, as…
2013 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Medicare & Reimbursement
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the Medicare physician fee schedule for 2013. Unless Congress intervenes, the rule implements a 26.5 percent reduction in Medicare physician payments in 2013 based on the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. MGMA will continue its steadfast advocacy efforts to repeal the flawed SGR formula, and…
THE PROPOSED 2013 MEDICARE PHYSICIAN FEE SCHEDULE PRESENTS SOME MAJOR CONCERNS
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Medicare & Reimbursement
CMS issued the proposed 2013 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule on July 30, 2012. The complete document package of approximately 700 pages is available on both the CMS website and at www.medlawblog.com. For this article, I will not summarize all 700 pages, but I would like to hit three of the most significant issues:
1. 27%…
CRNA – CMS Developments
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Legal News, Medicare & Reimbursement
I thought you might be interested in linking to or writing about a recent blog post by Christine Zambricki, a top official with the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. The post originally appeared in ADVANCE for Nurses
Protecting Access to CRNAs Relieves Patient Pain
By Christine Zambricki, CRNA, MA, FAAN
In less than two weeks…
Colorado State Court Rules CRNAs May Practice Without Physician Supervision
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Medicare & Reimbursement
In Colorado Medical Society v. Hickenlooper, a Colorado appeals court ruled the state of Colorado may op-out of the CMS rules requiring physician supervision of CRNAs in hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and critical access hospitals.
The case is actually about the Medicare regulations for hospital participation, but it is based upon the concept of…
Significant Issues in the 2013Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Medicare & Reimbursement
The 2013 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule was posted by CMS today.
27% SGR Reduction
The most significant issue, of course, will be the proposed 27% Medicare physician fee schedule reduction which will be statutorily imposed because of the sustainable growth rate formula. I am sure everybody is familiar with the annual debacle over the last…
Advance Payment ACO Model
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Medicare & Reimbursement
For participants in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, physician-based and rural providers who have come together voluntarily to give coordinated high quality care to the Medicare patients they serve through the Advance Payment ACO Model. Through the Advance Payment ACO Model, selected participants will receive upfront and monthly payments, which they can use to make…
CMS Announces First Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Approvals
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Medicare & Reimbursement
| For Immediate Release: | Tuesday, April 10, 2012 |
| Contact: | CMS Office of Public Affairs 202-690-6145 |
NEW AFFORDABLE CARE ACT PROGRAM TO IMPROVE CARE, CONTROL MEDICARE COSTS, OFF TO A STRONG START
OVER 1.1 MILLION BENEFICIARIES NOW SERVED BY ACCOUNTABLE CARE ORGANIZATIONS
A new program that will help physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers work
…
CMS proposes one-year delay for ICD-10
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Medicare & Reimbursement
Special Alert
CMS proposes one-year delay for ICD-10
Today the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a rule that proposes to delay ICD-10 one year from Oct. 2013 to Oct. 2014. The one-year delay of ICD-10 is in response to continued concerns from MGMA and others that adoption of the new code…