CMS HOPD Changes

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced plans to strengthen the tie between the quality of care furnished to people with Medicare in hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and the payments hospitals receive for those services.  In a final rule establishing Medicare payment and policy changes for services in HOPDs and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) for calendar year (CY) 2009, CMS reiterates its commitment to implementing Value Based Purchasing (VBP) initiatives across the continuum of beneficiaries’ care and transforming Medicare from a passive payer to a prudent purchaser of health care.

The final Outpatient Prospective Payment System/Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System (OPPS/ASC) rule also includes a 3.6 percent annual inflation update for HOPDs; and adopts changes to payment policies for HOPDs and Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs) beginning on January 1, 2009.  The law sets the ASC update for CY 2009 at 0 percent.

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