Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medicare Proposal Would Drop Cuts To Hospitals Based On Two-Midnight Inpatient Rule
Modern Healthcare: CMS Drops Two-Midnight Rule's Inpatient Payment Cuts
The CMS will not continue to impose an inpatient payment cut to hospitals under the two-midnight rule following ongoing industry criticism and a legal challenge. It will provide a onetime bump to hospitals to offset the cuts. The agency imposed the cut because it estimated the two midnight policy would increase Medicare spending by approximately $220 million due to an expected increase in inpatient admissions. Hospitals will also see a temporary increase of 0.6% in fiscal 2017. That would make up for the 0.2% reduction to the rates the last three years. (Dickson, 4/18)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Angers Hospitals With Proposal To Recover Overpayments
While hospitals are celebrating the Obama administration's surrender on a Medicare pay cut tied to the so-called two-midnight rule, they're seething over a proposal to nearly double the expected payment reduction meant to recoup overpayments tied to incorrect coding. (Dickson, 4/19)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Offers Bundled Payment Participants Two-Year Extension
Providers in Medicare's Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative (BPCI) are invited to extend their participation for an additional two years. The CMS said the extension will give the agency more time to evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative. BPCI is composed of four broadly defined models of care, which link payments for multiple services beneficiaries receive during an episode of care. ... The initiative is part of a broader effort by the administration to overhaul the way Medicare pays providers and move away from the traditional fee-for-service model. (Dickson, 4/18)
