On July 15, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Calendar Year (CY) 2026 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems Proposed Rule [CMS-1834-P],...more
7/18/2025
/ Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicare ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Payment Systems ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements
On July 14, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Calendar Year (CY) 2026 Revisions to Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Other Revisions to Medicare Part B [CMS-13271]...more
7/17/2025
/ Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Insurance Industry ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Shared Savings Program ,
New Regulations ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Technology ,
Telehealth
The American Medical Association (AMA) CPT®* Editorial Panel will convene in Chicago, Illinois, from September 18 to 20, 2025. The meeting agenda includes proposals to create new current procedural terminology (CPT) codes and...more
7/16/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Coding ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medical Records ,
Medicare ,
Physicians ,
Reimbursements ,
Technology
The last week of June was a busy one when it comes to news about prior authorization – a major tool used by health plans and the federal government to manage healthcare utilization. The week started with a commitment from...more
7/10/2025
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Fee-for-Service ,
Fraud ,
Government Agencies ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Prior Authorization ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Waste
On April 11, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment...more
The American Medical Association (AMA) CPT®1 Editorial Panel will meet in Brooklyn, New York, from May 1 to 3, 2025. The meeting agenda includes proposals to create new current procedural terminology (CPT) codes and to revise...more
While we all are focused on the election results, let’s take a quick break to digest some regs and eggs. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) “spoiled” all of us in the health policy world with a huge buffet of...more
11/7/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Shared Savings Program ,
Mental Health ,
MIPS ,
New Regulations ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Telehealth
On November 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the calendar year (CY) 2025 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems Final Rule [CMS-1809-F],...more
On August 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) posted the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final update for fiscal year (FY) 2025, along with proposed policy and regulation changes....more
The major calendar year proposed regs are now out, with thousands of pages of text to digest. Since a plethora of issues are embedded in these regs, including the Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and the...more
School is out and it is summertime, which means only one thing in the health policy community: reg season! This is the time of the year when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) releases regulations that propose...more
6/19/2024
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Medicare ,
MIPS ,
New Regulations ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Telehealth
May 11, 2024, marked one year since the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and not much has changed in Medicare telehealth policy. We are still operating under temporary waivers and flexibilities and, as a...more
5/15/2024
/ Controlled Substances ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DEA ,
Electronic Prescribing ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Healthcare ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Life Sciences ,
Mental Health ,
Patient Access ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
Total Medicare expenditures are projected to exceed $1 trillion in 2023 and grow at an average rate of 7.8% per year from 2025 to 2031. Federal health policymakers, including Congress, are looking for ways to rein in spending...more
The CPT® Editorial Panel met in New Orleans, Louisiana, from September 21 to 23, 2023 to consider proposals to create new current procedural terminology (CPT) codes and to revise or delete existing codes. The resulting...more
On August 1, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule. The rule updates Medicare payment policies and quality reporting...more