Title: Medicare Program: Proposed Changes to the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and CY 2011 Payment Rates; Proposed Changes to the Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System and CY 2011 Payment Rates; Proposed Changes to Payments to Hospitals for Certain Inpatient Hospital Services and for Graduate Medical Education Costs; and Proposed Changes to Physician Self-Referral Rules and Related Changes to Provider Agreement Regulations
Summary: This proposed rule would revise the Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) to implement applicable statutory requirements and changes arising from our continuing experience with this system and to implement certain provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Affordable Care Act). In this proposed rule, we describe the proposed changes to the amounts and factors used to determine the payment rates for Medicare hospital outpatient services paid under the prospective payment system. These proposed changes would be applicable to services furnished on or after January 1, 2011.
In addition, this proposed rule would update the revised Medicare ambulatory surgical center (ASC) payment system to implement applicable statutory requirements and changes arising from our continuing experience with this system and to implement certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act. In this proposed rule, we set forth the proposed applicable relative payment weights and amounts for services furnished in ASCs, specific HCPCS codes to which these proposed changes would apply, and other pertinent rate setting information for the CY 2011 ASC payment system. These proposed changes would be applicable to services furnished on or after January 1, 2011.
This proposed rule also includes proposals to implement provisions of the Affordable Care Act relating to payments to hospitals for direct graduate medical education (GME) and indirect medical education (IME) costs; and new limitations on certain physician referrals to hospitals in which they have an ownership or investment interest.