government
Medicare hospital pay rates to drop in 2012
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 2, 2011
Inpatient payment rates for acute care hospitals would decrease by $498 billion for fiscal 2012 under a proposed regulation the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released April 19.
The Medicare agency would reduce payments a total of 0.5% by using an adjustment that offsets increases based on changes in hospital documentation and coding. The American Hospital Assn. said CMS incorrectly assumes spending on inpatient hospital care has gone up because of coding changes.
"America's hospitals are deeply disappointed that [the] proposal puts further stress on vital care on which seniors depend," said Rich Umbdenstock, AHA's president and CEO. "Medicare already fails to cover the cost of hospital services, and these reductions ultimately make hospitals' ability to care for patients and communities even more challenging."
CMS will accept comments on the 2012 proposed rule until June 20.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/05/02/gvbf0502.htm.