The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its 2018 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System proposed rule.
An “unpublished” version of the rule is available here.
Here are some of the highlights:
- CMS is proposing to delay the mandatory implementation of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Survey (OAS CAHPS) for calendar year (CY) 2018 data collection. Organizations that would like to continue to administer the survey under the voluntary national implementation may do so in CY 2018.
- CMS is proposing that ASCs would receive, on average over all covered procedures, an effective payment increase of 1.9%. For hospitals, CMS estimates a 2.0% payment increase under the OPPS in CY 2018.
- CMS is proposing to remove total knee arthroplasty from the Medicare inpatient-only (IPO) list. CMS is also seeking comment regarding whether partial and total hip arthroplasty should also be removed from the IPO list.
- CMS is proposing to add three measures and remove three measures from the Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR) program. The three proposed additions are 1) ASC-16: Toxic Anterior Segment Syndrome (TASS); 2) ASC-17: Hospital Visits after Orthopedic Ambulatory Surgical Center Procedures; and 3) ASC-18: Hospital Visits after Urology Ambulatory Surgical Center Procedures.The three proposed deletions are 1) ASC-5: Prophylactic Intravenous (IV) Antibiotic Timing; 2) ASC-6: Safe Surgery Checklist Use; and 3) ASC-7: ASC Facility Volume Data on Selected Procedures.
- CMS is proposing to remove six measures from the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR) program. They are as follows: 1) OP-21: Median Time to Pain Management for Long Bone Fracture; 2) OP-26: Hospital Outpatient Volume Data on Selected Outpatient Surgical Procedures; 3) OP-1: Median Time to Fibrinolysis; 4) OP-4: Aspirin at Arrival; 5) OP-20: Door to Diagnostic Evaluation by a Qualified Medical Professional; and 6) OP-25: Safe Surgery Checklist Use.
CMS is accepting comments on the proposed rule until Sept. 11, 2017, and will respond to comments in a final rule on or about Nov. 1, 2017.