CMS Proposes Expansion of Telehealth Services Eligible for Medicare...
Summary - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its CY2017 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule on July 17 - after receiving requests from various stakeholders to add telehealth...
View ArticleCMS Call on MPFS Global Services Data Collection (Aug. 11)
On August 11, 2016, CMS is hosting a call to discuss its plans, set forth in the proposed 2017 Medicare physician fee schedule rule......By: Reed Smith
View ArticleProvider-Based Rule and Stark—Is Joint Compliance Impossible in 2017?
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will be putting hospitals in an untenable position if recent proposed rulemaking is implemented as is. In its proposal for acting on legislation...
View ArticleAlso In The News - Health Headlines - August 2016
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...
View ArticleProposed 2017 Hospital OPPS Rule Would End Medicare Payments to Many Off...
?Published on July 14, 2016, CMS’s proposed 2017 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) rule calls for site-neutral payments that would stop Medicare payments to many off-campus...
View ArticleCMS ICD-10 Coding Flexibility Policy to End October 1, 2016. Period.
On October 1, 2016, CMS is definitively ending an ICD-10 coding “flexibility” policy announced last year that prevents practitioner Medicare Part B physician fee schedule claims from being denied based...
View ArticleCompliance Concerns Raised Over Proposed Hospital Outpatient Department Rule
In an August 26, 2016, letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the American Hospital Association (AHA) expressed serious concern over the portion of the calendar year 2017...
View ArticleMedicare Proposes Tiered Outpatient Therapy Evaluation Codes for 2017
In July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its intent to add several new codes for physical therapy and occupational therapy evaluation under the Medicare Physician Fee...
View ArticleLawmakers Join MedPAC in Speaking Out Against CMS Surgeon Data Collection...
On September 16, 2016, approximately 112 congressional representatives submitted a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell and CMS acting Administrator Andy Slavitt requesting that CMS not...
View ArticleCMS Finalizes Changes to the Future of Physician Reimbursement with the...
CMS released the Final Rule with comment period delineating a portion of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) known as the Quality Payment Program (QPP) on October 14, 2016,...
View ArticleCMS Finalizes Payment Changes for Off-Campus Provider-Based Departments
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2017 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System Final Rule (Final Rule) on...
View ArticleCMS Issues Final MACRA Rule: Expands Exemptions and Flexibility for Smaller...
Last Friday, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued its Final Rule implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (“MACRA”), which marks a milestone in...
View ArticleCMS Finalizes CY 2017 Physician Fee Schedule
On Wednesday, November 2, 2016, CMS issued a final rule (Final Rule) to update payment policies and payment rates for services furnished under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) on or after...
View ArticleStark Law Updates in 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule
On November 2, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) rule. This rule, which takes effect on January 1, 2017, updates payment...
View ArticleCMS Reissues Stark Rules Restricting Certain Unit-based Rental Rate...
On November 15, 2016, as part of its 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule update, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services reissued its prohibition on certain unit-based rental arrangements with...
View Article2017 Physician Fee Schedule Includes Clarification of Space and Equipment...
The Department of Health and Human Services Center for Medicaid and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently finalized the Calendar Year 2017 Physician Fee Schedule (“2017 Fee Schedule”), which includes a...
View ArticleHealth Law Insights: November Newsletter
ALERT: "No Contract" Disclaimer in Employee Handbook Upheld by Illinois CourtAuthor: Employee handbooks have long been a trap for the unwary employer that desires merely to establish a set of rules and...
View ArticlePractical Considerations for Medical Practices Considering Converting Their...
On November 2, 2016 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Final Rule. Although the impact of the Final Rule on nephrology...
View Article2017 Medicare Telehealth Changes
The 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule finalizes the CMS changes for Telehealth reimbursement and coverage for 2017. The CMS fee schedule document also provides a comprehensive explanation of...
View Article21st Century Cures Act Provides Some Welcome Relief
The 21st Century Cures Act (the “Cures Act”) (Pub. L. No. 114-255), which was signed into law by President Obama on December 13, 2016, includes a number of important health care provisions, and several...
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