Les Masterson | April 17, 2017
Dive Brief:
- The CMS is looking to give another $3 billion to inpatient hospitals in fiscal year 2018, as well as decrease payments by about 3.75% ($173 million) to long-term care hospitals.
- The federal agency also seeks to change uncompensated care reimbursements for safety net hospitals. It expects to distribute about $7 billion for uncompensated care, which is an increase of about $1 billion.
- Another provision in the proposed rule will reduce EHR reporting requirement burdens for two years. The new regulation would cut down reporting requirements specifically for Clinical Quality Measures (CQMs) in the EHR Incentive program.
Dive Insight:
Hospitals will like the additional money in the rule changes, but safety net hospitals may be concerned about payment formula changes.
Hospitals previously spoke out about a similar payment formula for safety net hospitals. The issue is that opponents of the measure felt the change would help hospitals with large uninsured populations and states that didn’t expand Medicaid. The new formula would use information from a hospital’s Medicare cost report rather than the number of Medicaid, dual-eligible and disabled patients that each hospital served.
Though the payment rules may concern hospitals, health IT officials will likely celebrate the proposed rule that relates to EHR reporting requirements. The move would reduce EHR reporting requirement burdens for two years. Health IT leaders and providers have requested CMS reduce Meaningful Use and data reporting requirements, and they may have gotten their wish with the proposed rule.
Source: HealthcareDIVE
http://www.healthcaredive.com/news/cms-announces-more-money-for-inpatient-hospitals-changes-to-ehr-reporting/440596/