Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
CMS RINGS IN THE NEW YEAR WITH PHYSICIAN PAY HIKE
Starting January 1, physicians can see it to believe it. Good news for physicians - the Medicare pay increase promised in the prescription drug bill enacted last month will go into effect right on time in 2004. Effective January 1, physicians can expect a 1.5-percent pay increase. Thanks to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act, physicians in rural and other areas of the country can enjoy Medicare increases of up to 4.8 percent as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services adjusts payments to reflect area cost differences. And special congratulations to physicians practicing in Alaska, who will be receiving a 52-percent increase. Docs should keep an eye out for changes in the fees for injectibles and certain other drugs - Medicare will be reducing reimbursement from 95 percent to 85 percent of the April 1, 2003, AWP to reflect more closely the actual price charged by suppliers. Coming on the heels of a threatened 4.5 percent fee decrease back in November, the new provision will, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, "create incentives for physicians to continue to treat Medicare beneficiaries." The deadline to decide whether or not you want to participate in Medicare this year will also be rolled back to February 17. Lesson Learned: Physicians can breathe a sigh of relief that a 4.8 percent pay cut planned for 2004 has been forestalled.
Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement
- Regulations:
DOZENS OF REGULATORY CHANGES IN THE PIPELINE
What's coming down the pike from CMS and the OIG.
Medicare's regulatory framework is a [...] - Physicians:
CMS RINGS IN THE NEW YEAR WITH PHYSICIAN PAY HIKE
Starting January 1, physicians can see it to believe it.
Good news for physicians - [...] - Home Care:
NEW HOME CARE PPS RATES MAY CHANGE MORE THAN EXPECTED
HHAs prepare for inflation update revamp.
The market basket index for home health agencies is [...] - Health Savings Accounts:
IRS ISSUES GUIDELINES FOR NEW TAX-FAVORED ACCOUNTS
The Internal Revenue Service in new guidelines outlines the broadly favorable tax treatment and other [...] - Medicare Rx:
REALITY: MEDICARE MAY NEED TO SET SOME Rx PRICES
Health economist Joseph Newhouse predicts that the Medicare prescription-drug law's "non-interference clause," which prohibits the [...] - Medicare+Choice:
SENIORS IN FOR-PROFIT PLANS NOT DENIED HIGH-COST CARE
At least in the Medicare program, for-profit managed care plans provide as much access to [...] - Hospice:
COPs, Amendments On Hospice Horizon
Hospices have their fair share of regulatory action planned this year. According to the Centers [...] - Pharmaceuticals:
CMS TACKLES AWP
In one of its first steps towards turning the sprawling Medicare legislation signed by President [...] - People:
SMITH BECOMES ACTING CMS CHIEF
Former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Tom Scully has joined the law firm [...] - Medicare+Choice:
M+C 2004 ACRP TIMELINE
To be ready for the changes in March, M+COs need to act now.
The Medicare [...] - Pharmaceuticals:
CMS BEEFS UP DRUGMAKER RECORDKEEPING RULE
Time limitation bumped up to 10 years.
Drug makers will need to hold onto pricing [...] - Pharmaceuticals:
MEDICAID Rx SCRUTINY placed on DOCS, PHARMACISTS, PATIENTS
Watch for yet more investigation of suspected prescription drug fraud .
Big players in the [...] - Hospitals:
MORE LIFE SUPPORT FOR RURAL HOSPITALS
New rule secures cash flow to rural hospitals, changes payments on certain drugs.
More than [...] - Hospitals:
SMALL TOWN HOSPITALS TO RECEIVE BIG-CITY WAGES
Special appeals for wage index classification are now under way. The Centers for Medicaid & [...] - Self-Referral:
ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR - feds DELAY SELF REFERRAL RULE, AGAIN
Effective date for controversial Stark provision now July 7, 2004.
In keeping with its three [...] - CMS MANUAL UPDATE
Physicians will be able to bill Medicare for HCPCS code J0880 starting Jan. 1, 2003, [...]
