UPDATES For 2018
UPDATE: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Administrator Seema Verma recently announced a new approach to quality
measurement, called “Meaningful
Measures.” The Meaningful Measures Initiative will involve identifying the
highest priorities to improve patient care through quality measurement and
quality improvement efforts.
UPDATE: ICD-10 and
Other Coding Revisions to National Coverage Determinations (NCDs)
The translations from
ICD-9 to ICD-10 are not consistent one-to-one matches, nor are
all ICD-10 codes appearing
in a complete General Equivalence Mappings (GEMs) mapping
guide or other mapping
guides appropriate when reviewed against individual NCD policies. In
addition, for those
policies that expressly allow MAC discretion, there may be changes to those
NCDs based on current
review of those NCDs against ICD-10 coding. For these reasons, there
may be certain ICD-9 codes
that were once considered appropriate prior to ICD-10
implementation that are no
longer considered acceptable.
UPDATE: Medicare Part B Premiums/Deductibles
Medicare Part B covers
physician services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services,
durable medical equipment, and other items.
The standard monthly
premium for Medicare Part B enrollees will be $134 for 2018, the same amount as
in 2017. Some beneficiaries who were held harmless against Part B premium
increases in prior years will have a Part B premium increase in 2018, but the
premium increase will be offset by the increase in their Social Security
benefits next year.
CMS also announced that
the annual deductible for all Medicare
Part B beneficiaries will be $183 in 2018, the same annual deductible in
2017. Premiums and deductibles for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription
Drug plans are already finalized and are unaffected by this announcement.
UPDATE: MACRA 2018 final rule
On November 2, 2017, the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule for
Year 2 of the Quality Payment Program (QPP), otherwise known as the Medicare
Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). MACRA, as you might
recall, is currently in its first year, and the 2018 final rule is an attempt
to make things easier for smaller, independent, and rural practices during the
2018 performance period.
UPDATE: Patient debt varies by specialty and location
Should certain medical
specialties or locations be particularly watchful? Yes, according to research
from various medical practices (via
Practice Analysis), which shows that both the percent of revenue from
patients and the percent of patient bad debt vary by specialty and by location
across the provider network.
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305-975-1171
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