HCFA Delays APC Implementation

Because the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has missed several milestones in its plans to implement the ambulatory payment classification (APC) system and several informal surveys have shown that outpatient facilities are not fully prepared for it, the agency has postponed APC implementation from July 1 until Aug. 1, HCFA Administrator Nancy-Ann Min DeParle announced June 6. Consequently, all Medicare claims for outpatient services received after Aug. 1, 2000, will be processed under the new payment rules.

I have made this decision because I believe that it is virtually impossible for HCFA or the hospital industry to implement [APCs] on July 1, DeParle said. She noted particularly that the agency delayed by nine weeks the release of the Claims Expansion and Line Item Processing (CELIP), which is an expanded claim form necessary for the new system. Such delays have limited the ability of outpatient facilities to prepare for APCs. This one-month postpone-ment, while unfortunate, is critical to ensure that HCFA and the hospital and community mental health center communities are ready to overcome the challenges posed by the implementation of the new outpatient payment system.

- Published on 2000-07-01