Responding to longstanding industry criticisms, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a number of changes to the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) coding process for 2019. Most of the new policies are intended to increase transparency regarding CMS HCPCS coding decisions. The one substantive change of note is that CMS … Continue Reading
In a transmittal issued last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) extended newly-revised supervision rules for certain diagnostic tests paid via the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) to services paid under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) for hospital outpatient departments. The transmittal relates to services performed by a registered radiologist assistant who … Continue Reading
CMS has released its final 2019 Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule (CLFS) payment determinations for new and reconsidered clinical lab test codes. Specifically, CMS finalized the basis for establishing the payment rate (crosswalking or gapfilling), along with the agency’s rationale for the decision.… Continue Reading
In an effort to “modernize the Medicare program and bring the latest technologies and innovations to Medicare beneficiaries,” CMS has announced revisions to the local coverage determination (LCD) process. Specifically, under authority provided in the 21st Century Cures Act and taking into account stakeholder feedback, CMS has issued Program Integrity Manual (PIM) changes intended to … Continue Reading
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that 1,299 entities have signed agreements to participate in the Administration’s new Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) Advanced episode payment model, which runs from October 1, 2018 through December 31, 2023. According to CMS, BPCI Advanced participants include 1,547 Medicare providers and suppliers (832 … Continue Reading
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has provided additional guidance on a hospital price transparency policy that goes into effect January 1, 2019. By that date, hospitals must make available a list of their current standard charges via the internet in a machine readable format and update this information at least annually, or … Continue Reading
CMS has posted the preliminary 2019 Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule (CLFS) payment determinations for new and reconsidered clinical lab test codes. For each code, CMS announces whether it intends to use crosswalking or gapfilling to establish the payment rate, along with the agency’s rationale for the decision. CMS will accept public comments on these preliminary … Continue Reading
CMS has released the inflation-adjusted de minimis Open Payments/Physician Payments Sunshine Act reporting thresholds for 2019. Payments or other transfers of value of less than $10.79 do not need to be reported in 2019, unless total annual payments or other transfers of value to a covered recipient exceed $107.91. These amounts are up slightly from the 2018 … Continue Reading
CMS is planning a new “Medicare Advantage Qualifying Payment Arrangement Incentive (MAQI) Demonstration” that would allow clinicians who participate in certain Medicare Advantage (MA) plans that involve taking on risk to be treated as Advanced Alternative Payment Model (Advanced APM) participants under the Medicare physician fee schedule. By way of background, the Medicare Access and … Continue Reading
CMS has released an-agency-wide Rural Health Strategy that seeks to “better serve individuals in rural areas and avoid unintended consequences of policy and program implementation.” The Strategy has five objectives: Apply a rural lens to CMS programs and policies (e.g., apply a new checklist to relevant policies, procedures, and initiatives that impact rural communities) Improve … Continue Reading
Last fall, CMS requested public comments on the CMS Innovation Center’s “New Direction,” under which CMS will seek to “promote patient-centered care and test market-driven reforms.” In the interest of transparency and to facilitate discussion, CMS has posted a summary of the more than 1,000 comments it received from medical societies, providers, manufacturers, and other … Continue Reading
CMS is still rolling out policies and procedures to fully implement the major clinical laboratory payment reforms mandated by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA). As previously reported, the June 23, 2016 final PAMA rule established the framework for basing Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule (CLFS) payment on private insurance payment amounts, with … Continue Reading
CMS has extended until June 8, 2018 the deadline to submit an expression of interest (EOI) for the Low Volume Appeals Initiative. As previously reported, the LVA option is available for providers, physicians, and suppliers with fewer than 500 total Medicare Part A or Part B claim appeals pending at the Office of Medicare Hearings … Continue Reading
James Bailey is the new CMS Medicare Pharmaceutical and Technology Ombudsman, a role Congress established in the 21st Century Cures Act to help expedite resolution of industry Medicare reimbursement concerns. The Ombudsman’s office is charged with fielding questions from pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, diagnostic product manufacturers, and other stakeholders regarding Medicare coverage, coding, and payment … Continue Reading
CMS is seeking comments on its proposed updates to the methodologies used to pay Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D plan sponsors for 2019. This year CMS released its 2019 Advance Notice and Draft Call Letter in two parts. In late 2017, CMS released proposed changes to the Part C risk adjustment model (Part I … Continue Reading
The Trump Administration has issued a potentially highly-significant proposed rule intended to expand the availability of short-term, limited duration insurance policies that are exempt from Affordable Care Act (ACA) qualified health plan standards. Under the proposed rule, issued by the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the “Departments”), the maximum duration of … Continue Reading
CMS will not proceed with its planned Direct Decision Support (DDS) innovation model “due to operational and technical issues with the proposed Model design.” When this model was announced in December 2016, it was expected to test a shared decision-making approach outside of the clinical delivery system. On February 2, 2018, CMS announced that it has … Continue Reading
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have announced a partnership to leverage CMS’s program integrity tools to detect and prevent fraud within VA programs. The collaboration will focus on applying state-of-the-art data analytics tools and best practices identified by CMS to VA claims payment processes. In … Continue Reading
The Trump Administration has rolled out its first CMS Innovation Center Medicare bundled payment initiative, the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced). Under the new voluntary model, CMS will test whether bundled payments for 29 inpatient and 3 outpatient clinical episodes will lead to reduced Medicare expenditures while improving quality of care for … Continue Reading
CMS has announced a new initiative allowing states to propose demonstrations to “improve Medicaid enrollee health and well-being through incentivizing work and community engagement.” Specifically, states may propose Section 1115 waivers to make participation in work or other community engagement a requirement for continued Medicaid eligibility or coverage for non-elderly, non-pregnant adult Medicaid beneficiaries who … Continue Reading
As previously reported, the 21st Century Cures Act prohibits federal financial participation (FFP) payments to the states for certain Medicaid durable medical equipment (DME) expenditures that exceed what Medicare would have paid for such items, either on a fee schedule basis or under competitive bidding. The provision is effective January 1, 2018. CMS recently provided … Continue Reading
CMS has issued final 2018 Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule (CLFS) rates, which are based on private payer data as mandated by the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA). A companion document explains changes the agency made in response to public comments on the September 2017 preliminary rates and clarifying its methodology. In addition, … Continue Reading
The 2018 update to the alphanumeric Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) files is now available on the CMS website. The files include the Level II alphanumeric HCPCS procedure and modifier codes, their long and short descriptions, and information on Medicare coverage and pricing. CMS also has begun posting application summaries for HCPCS applications discussed … Continue Reading
CMS has announced inflation-adjusted de minimis reporting thresholds for 2018 under the Open Payments/Physician Payments Sunshine Act program. Specifically, payments or transfers of value of less than $10.49 do not need to be reported in 2018, except when the total annual value of payments or other transfers of value to a covered recipient exceeds $104.90. … Continue Reading
