HOSPITALS: You'll Get A Payment Increase In 2007, But Medicare Will Demand More Quality Reporting

Why This Topic Matters

The rule affects how hospitals are paid, what quality data they must report, and how certain outpatient services and facility types are administered. Readers can quickly assess whether the article applies to their hospital setting, outpatient department, or ASC operations for the 2007 payment year.

Article Sections

1. Hospital payment update and expenditure trends

   Overview of CMS’s CY 2007 hospital outpatient payment update and the expenditure trends that prompted concern. Covers the general context for the final rule and its impact on hospital payment policy.

2. Quality reporting requirements under OPPS and IPPS

   Discussion of expanded quality reporting tied to hospital payment updates under outpatient and inpatient prospective payment systems. Summarizes the broader reporting direction CMS set for future years.

3. Other changes under the final rule for hospitals

   Summary of additional hospital policy changes affecting outpatient departments, partial hospitalization, critical access hospitals, claims processing, and ambulatory surgical centers. Also notes the transition to new Medicare claims contractors.