Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs; Physician-Owned Hospitals: Data Sources for Expansion Exception, etc.

The proposed rule was released July 11, 2014. Comments are due by September 2, 2014. The provisions go into effect in January 2015. A key proposal will affect Ambulatory Classification Payment (APC) billing units for the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS). Currently the OPPS has 39 device-dependent APCs, which would be eliminated in favor of a Comprehensive APC for bundles of outpatient services associated with surgery to implant high cost medical devices, such as a pacemaker or knee joint replacement . . .