医院协会批评对医疗保健(Medicare)付费的建议(下)
In addition, the CMS has recommended that the outlier pool, estimated at 2% of the $17.5 billion budget, be eliminated and also rolled into the APC payments to cover the cost of high technology drugs and devices.
"Given the restraints of the [1999 budget] law, this rule adopts the best possible balance between protecting beneficiary services in outpatient settings, and ensuring that those beneficiaries have access to all the new drug and device technologies that are critical to their improved health," said Tom Scully, administrator of CMS, in a statement.
AHA Executive Vice President Rick Pollack said that America's hospitals were "outraged" the CMS would further reduce Medicare payments for outpatient services without subjecting the proposed changes to "any data analyses or methodology to the light of public scrutiny."
The AHA contends that the pass-through payments in 2001 far exceed the $2.3 billion the CMS has projected for 2002. The problem, said Coyle, is that the CMS has yet to release any data on what the OPPS is paying for drugs and devices in 2001. Hospitals are submitting, and being reimbursed, for the drug and device pass-through payments, said Coyle. In addition, new technologies have been added to the pass-through list and may not be factored in to the 2002 projections.
"Folded in sounds benign, but it's not," said Coyle. "Ultimately, it will result in huge losses to hospitals."
The AHA suggested that the CMS recommendations be delayed for six months in order for CMS to share data with the public on how it arrived at its decision.
The CMS also did not release the proposed rate increases for specific APCs Wednesday, as it normally does. The center expects to release the rate increases December 1.
Pollack called the CMS' failure to publish the rates "irresponsible," saying it is not providing hospitals with the information they need to do their job.
-New York Newsroom 212 273 1700, http://www.100md.com
"Given the restraints of the [1999 budget] law, this rule adopts the best possible balance between protecting beneficiary services in outpatient settings, and ensuring that those beneficiaries have access to all the new drug and device technologies that are critical to their improved health," said Tom Scully, administrator of CMS, in a statement.
AHA Executive Vice President Rick Pollack said that America's hospitals were "outraged" the CMS would further reduce Medicare payments for outpatient services without subjecting the proposed changes to "any data analyses or methodology to the light of public scrutiny."
The AHA contends that the pass-through payments in 2001 far exceed the $2.3 billion the CMS has projected for 2002. The problem, said Coyle, is that the CMS has yet to release any data on what the OPPS is paying for drugs and devices in 2001. Hospitals are submitting, and being reimbursed, for the drug and device pass-through payments, said Coyle. In addition, new technologies have been added to the pass-through list and may not be factored in to the 2002 projections.
"Folded in sounds benign, but it's not," said Coyle. "Ultimately, it will result in huge losses to hospitals."
The AHA suggested that the CMS recommendations be delayed for six months in order for CMS to share data with the public on how it arrived at its decision.
The CMS also did not release the proposed rate increases for specific APCs Wednesday, as it normally does. The center expects to release the rate increases December 1.
Pollack called the CMS' failure to publish the rates "irresponsible," saying it is not providing hospitals with the information they need to do their job.
-New York Newsroom 212 273 1700, http://www.100md.com