Tell CMS the Payment Proposals Will Hurt Patients with Serious Illness

by Phil RodgersSubmit comments this weekend! Deadline: Monday, Sep 10, 11:59 PM ETRegular Pallimed readers willremember Amy Davis ’ excellent post regardingCMS ’ recent proposed rule updating the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program for 2019. (See thisCMS Fact Sheet to learn more). In this rule, the agency proposes historically bold changes to outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) documentation requirements and payments, among many other substantial changes in the fee-for-service Medicare program.CMS says these proposed changes are designed to " increase the amount of time that doctors and other clinicians can spend with their patients by reducing the burden of paperwork that clinicians face when billing Medicare,” and they align withCMS ’ Patients Over Paperwork initiative.One of the provisions most concerning to the hospice and palliative care community is the proposal to create a single ‘blended’ payment for level 2 through 5 outpatient E/M visits (both new and established) that is lower than the current payment for level 4 visits. (See a CMS slide deck for more detail). Since many outpatient palliative care providers bill almost exclusively level 4 and 5 visits, this proposal is particularly damaging to our field. In fact, an American Medical Association (AMA) impact analysis showed thathospice and palliative care providers will be the hardest hit of all specialties, with an expected 20% reduction in outpatient E/M revenue. CMS also...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - Category: Palliative Care Tags: medicare outpatient rodgers The profession Source Type: blogs