CMS issues proposed Medicare payment rules

The measure would increase hospital outpatient rates, dramatically cut physician payments and link surgical center payment to quality.

Modern Healthcare: Proposed Rules Would Raise Rates, Cut Doc Reimbursement
The CMS issued proposed Medicare rules that would increase hospital outpatient rates by 1.5 percent, increase ambulatory surgical center payments by 0.9 percent, and decrease physician reimbursement by 29.5 percent, with the cut coming as a result of previous delays of mandated cuts tied to the sustainable growth-rate formula. The proposed rule increasing payments for care beginning Jan. 1, 2012, also would amend the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program to add a clinical process of care measure to guard against infections from urinary catheters. The proposal also would establish performance periods, standards and a "weighting scheme" for the fiscal 2014 hospital program (Daly, 7/1).

The Hill: Medicare Proposal Links Surgical Center Payments To Quality
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Friday unveiled its proposed payment rates for physicians, outpatient hospitals and dialysis facilities in 2012. The proposed rule for hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers establishes for the first time a quality reporting program for the surgical centers. Starting next year, they would have to track eight quality measures that would inform Medicare reimbursements starting in 2014 (Pecquet and Baker, 7/1).

CQ HealthBeat: CMS Issues Proposed Regs For Medicare Outpatient, Dialysis, Doctor Payments
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid late Friday announced proposed fiscal 2012 Medicare payment rules for hospital outpatient departments, ambulatory surgery centers, dialysis facilities, and physicians. It's slim pickings pretty much all around. Outpatient payments get a 1.5 percent rate increase; ambulatory surgery centers 0.9 percent; dialysis facilities 1.8 percent; and doctor payments would fall by 29.5 percent on Jan. 1 (7/1).