ASC Coding, Billing & Collections

CMS proposed removing some provisions in the expansion exception process for physician-owned hospitals that serve high numbers of Medicaid inpatients in the 2021 Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule.

CMS proposed adding 11 procedure codes to the ASC payable list, including total hip replacement, according to ASCA.

CMS released its proposed hospital outpatient payment rule for 2021 that would increase ASC reimbursement rates about 2.6 percent if approved as drafted.

CMS released its Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule for 2021 Aug. 3, which made several drastic cuts to payment rates for both general and specialty surgeons. 

In early April, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced that a portion of the $100 billion CARES Act Provider Relief Fund would be used to reimburse health care providers for COVID-related treatment of uninsured patients.

Most workers' compensation surgical cases were postponed as states responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Frank Raneri, senior vice president of Paradigm Specialty Networks, in an article on WorkCompWire.

UnitedHealthcare has room for improvement when it comes to reducing unnecessary costs and otherwise serving employers that fund health plans, suggested a recent survey of 174 executives.

CMS published 11 Current Procedural Terminology Category III codes that took effect July 1 in the ASC payment system.

The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled July 17 that HHS was within its rights to reduce payments to hospital outpatient departments, reversing a district court's earlier decision. 

Most specialty providers who bill out of network do so less than 10 percent of the time, according to a recent analysis by the Health Care Cost Institute, an independent, nonprofit research institute.