ASC Coding, Billing & Collections

On Nov. 2, CMS received the 2018 final payment rule, providing a 1.2 percent increase in ASC reimbursement next year. The final rule also addressed several issues pertaining to orthopedic procedures in ASCs, including total joint replacements and spine procedures.

When former HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD, issued a proposed rule in August to cancel and scale back several Medicare bundled payment initiatives, it may have sounded like a death knell for bundles.

A survey, conducted by Mercer, reports although employer-sponsored health insurance rates are rising, increases are nowhere proportional to individual plans, the PlanSponsor reports.

CMS released the 2018 final payment rule for ASCs and hospital outpatient departments, both of which received lower reimbursement increases than proposed in July, according to ASCA.

During a panel Oct. 27 at the Becker's Hospital Review 24th Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, held in Chicago, representatives from ECG Management Consultants spoke to attendees about changes in outpatient surgical codes and reimbursement.

Ambulatory surgery centers must implement strict protocols and procedures to ensure payment from patients and reimbursement from payers amid an increasingly complex billing environment.

CMS will terminate its Medicare provider agreement with Seattle-based Active Foot and Ankle Center Nov. 17.

Attorney generals from 46 states are suing an additional 12 pharmaceutical companies, alleging they are illegally raising generic drug prices, CNBC reports.

The Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network reported 29 percent or $354.5 billion of all healthcare payments made in 2016 were through alternative payment models.

Get ready, baby boomers, it’s actually happening.