Here are five articles published by Becker's Hospital Review this past week that offer insight on CMS' proposed Outpatient Prospective Payment System rule for 2017, improving revenue cycle performance and proposed changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
1. CMS releases OPPS proposed rule for 2017: 12 things to know
CMS released its 2017 Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule, which implements site-neutral payment provisions of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 and removes questions about pain management from Medicare's Value-Based Purchasing Program.
2. 7 healthcare leaders share advice for improving revenue cycle performance
Seven healthcare leaders shared advice for improving revenue cycle performance. The leaders work with organizations that received either the Healthcare Financial Management Association's 2016 MAP award for high performance in revenue cycle or HFMA's 2016 MAP Certificate of Recognition in Revenue Cycle Achievement.
3. 6 proposed changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule in 2017
CMS issued its proposed updates to the 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. This year's changes include a number of new policies that reflect a broader agency-wide strategy to enhance quality, spend smarter and improve Americans' health.
4. FTC dismisses complaint challenging West Virginia hospital merger
The Federal Trade Commission dropped its administrative complaint challenging the proposed merger between Cabell Huntington (W.Va.) Hospital and Huntington-based St. Mary's Medical Center.
5. Drug, device makers shelled out $7.5B to physicians, teaching hospitals in 2015: 6 things to know
CMS recently published 2015 Open Payments data, which shows payments from drug and device companies to physicians and teaching hospitals increased to $7.52 billion last year, up from $7.49 billion in 2014.
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