The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its proposed rule updating Medicare payment and policies for physicians and other clinicians who treat Medicare patients under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS).
CMS updates the MPFS annually to include changes to payment policies and rates, as well as quality provisions for services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries. The MPFS covers physicians and a variety of other medical professionals, including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physical therapists, as well as radiation therapy centers and independent diagnostic testing facilities.
The latest round of MPFS rule making included proposals to:
- Implement the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP), a Medicare innovation model CMS plans to expand in 2018
- Delay the compliance date for the Medicare Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) Program for Advanced Diagnostic Imaging until January 1, 2019
- Expand chronic care management (CCM) payment opportunities for Rural Health Centers and Federally Qualified Health Centers
- Improve payment for office-based behavioral health services, such as therapy and counseling services to treat opioid addiction and other substance use disorders
- Institute a 0.28% across-the-board payment rate increase for 2018
According to CMS, this rule seeks to align Medicare payments with the Quality Payment Program and “provide greater potential for payment system modernization.” The rule also solicits public comment on “reducing administrative burdens for providing patient care, including visits, care management, and telehealth services.”
On the July 20 Health Reform Simplified webinar, our regulatory team covered the 2018 MPFS proposed rule and how it impacts NextGen Healthcare clients. If you missed this important webinar, you can replay the recording and download the presentation now on the Success Community.
Also, we have posted a summary of the webinar’s Q&A, a table detailing current and proposed reporting, and certified EHR technology requirements for MIPS, Medicaid Meaningful Use, and certain Advanced APMs which can be found here.
Please register now for the August 17 Health Reform Simplified Webinar here for updates on the latest changes impacting your practice.
For a fact sheet on the proposed rule, please visit here.
The proposed rule (CMS-1676-P) and the Request for Information can be downloaded from the Federal Register.