The
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) recently finalized the calendar year (CY) 2020
Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
(MPFS), the
Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System
(OPPS), and the
Ambulatory Surgical Center
(ASC) Payment System. The final rules generally remained unchanged from their proposed versions, with a couple of exceptions. This
Health Capital Topics
article will briefly review each of these final rules.
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On November 15, 2019, the CMS finalized requirements that certain healthcare service and item prices be posted publicly by all hospitals in a “
consumer-friendly manner
.” This anticipated final rule stems from President Donald Trump’s executive order to “
Improv[e] Price and Quality Transparency
”, and the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
(ACA). This article will discuss the impetus for this latest policy push and review the most pertinent requirements of the final rule.
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As the federal government stalls on making meaningful improvements to the healthcare industry, the private sector is stepping up to the task. Employers are increasingly seeking ways to cut healthcare costs for practical profit purposes. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) reports that productivity losses linked to absenteeism cost U.S. employers $225.8 billion annually. Employees fatigued at work due to illness causes errors and puts an additional financial burden on employers.
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ASCs are presumably a lower cost setting than
hospital outpatient departments
(HOPDs); however, due to the ASC industry’s reluctance to offer cost data, there is no empirical data to support this belief. Instead, this presumption is supported by the fact that the average time for surgical visits at ASCs are 25% to 39% lower compared to HOPDs, which may contribute to lower costs for ASCs. This third installment in this five-part series on the valuation of ASCs will discuss the reimbursement environment of ASCs.
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Advanced Distance Education to Launch in 2020
The
Institute for Healthcare Valuation
(IHV) &
Consultants' Training Institute
(CTI) are pleased to announce premier healthcare valuation training through a distance education program, the Certificate of Educational Achievement (CEA) for Advanced Education in Healthcare Valuation. The program will launch in 2020 and will bridge the interdisciplinary nature of healthcare valuation to include: the Four Pillars of Healthcare (regulatory, reimbursement, competition, and technology); the market forces shaping the U.S. healthcare industry; and the valuation of healthcare enterprises, assets, and services. Legal professionals and healthcare providers, as well as those wishing to expand their scope of activities in healthcare valuation engagements and those seeking to enhance their current healthcare valuation service lines, will gain comprehensive knowledge through completing the expansive program. The program has been developed and is being presented by industry thought leader
Health Capital Consultants
, alongside a blockbuster faculty of healthcare subject matter experts from the legal, federal regulatory, and valuation professions.
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