The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new Age Friendly Hospital Measure Thursday based on work by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and designed to improve the care and outcomes of older adult patients.
Tag: CMS
Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (formerly AACC) survey finds that FDA’s final laboratory developed tests rule will impede the fight against the U.S.’s drug epidemic
Today, the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM, formerly AACC) released the results of a survey that ADLM conducted to determine how the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) final laboratory developed tests rule will impact patient access to essential tests. The survey found that, in spite of certain tests being exempt from the rule, it will still force many laboratories, particularly those in hospitals, to discontinue critical tests, including those needed to identify prescription and illegal drug use.
MEDIA ADVISORY – Webinar: The U.S. FDA’s rule on LDTs – What it means for you
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has long sparked controversy with its proposals to regulate laboratory developed tests (LDTs) as medical devices.
Radiologists at Major Disadvantage in MIPS when Working in Radiology-Focused Practices, According to New Study
The latest Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute (HPI) study shows that radiologists in radiology-only practices score significantly lower in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in 2021.
Nineteen Surgical Organizations Strongly Oppose CMS’ Plan to Implement the G2211 Code
The American College of Surgeons (ACS), with 18 other surgical organizations, has expressed strong opposition to the implementation of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) code G2211.
Anesthesiologists Denounce Another Year of Medicare Payment Cuts, Urge Immediate Reforms
The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) condemned yet another year of cuts to Medicare payments for critically important anesthesia and pain medicine services. The proposed cuts, announced in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2024 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), represent the fifth consecutive year of either a pay freeze or payment cut for the services anesthesiologists provide to their patients as shown in the table below. The CMS-proposed Medicare payment cuts will compound the financial strain anesthesia practices are already facing.
ASTRO supports CMS’ prior authorization reform for Medicare Advantage plans
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) issued the following statement from Geraldine M. Jacobson, MD, MBA, MPH, FASTRO, Board of Directors Chair, in response to yesterday’s final rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that revises the Medicare Advantage prior authorization process.
Anesthesiologists Oppose 700% Increase in Fee to Access No Surprises Act Independent Dispute Resolution Process and Call for IDR Reforms
Today, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) expressed its outrage with the 700% surge in the No Surprises Act (NSA) administrative fee that must be paid by anesthesiologists to access the Federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) system. ASA urges the government to block implementation of the massive fee increase and reform the IDR process.
AAOS Comments on Proposed Medicare Payment Policy Changes for 2023
The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) issued formal comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the agency’s proposed payment policy changes for Calendar Year (CY) 2023. In both letters, AAOS urged the agency to address growing health care costs, expand access to care and ease physician burden as they continue to navigate patient care, amidst financial and practice management challenges exacerbated by the pandemic.
Study finds U.S. nursing homes underreport pressure ulcers in federal data
Researchers assessing the accuracy of star ratings for the Nursing Home Care Compare system found the number and severity of pressure ulcers in patients was underreported, thus questioning the reliability of the self-reported data on patient safety measures.
New ASTRO letter to CMS outlines pathways to achieve value-based payment for radiation oncology
The American Society for Radiation Oncology delivered comments to CMS following a proposed indefinite delay for the radiation oncology APM. Recommendations outline actionable steps to stabilize Medicare reimbursement, prioritize health equity, reduce unnecessary administrative burden and improve cancer outcomes.
CMS Rates Duke’s Accountable Care Organization Highly for Quality, Costs
Duke’s accountable care organization received a 96.88% quality score in the most recent assessment from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Senators and representatives unite to call on CMS to protect patient access to high-quality radiation treatments
Eighty-five members of Congress have joined together to issue bipartisan, bicameral oversight letters that call on CMS to scale back severe cuts to radiation therapy reimbursement. Without action from CMS, radiation oncology will face estimated cuts of $300 million starting January 1, 2022, jeopardizing patient access to care.
Mayo Clinic Community Accountable Care Organization delivers high-quality care, Medicare savings
The Mayo Clinic Community Accountable Care Organization (ACO) LLC earned a quality score of 97.81% while generating $32.3 million in cost savings for the Medicare program in 2020.
ASTRO submits comments to CMS: Stop the draconian cuts that will harm cancer patient care
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) submitted two comment letters to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today urging the agency to reconsider policy changes that will result in $300 million in Medicare cuts for radiation therapy services starting January 1, 2022.
ASTRO responds to troubling Medicare cuts and Radiation Oncology Model update
In response to consecutive weeks of significant proposed Medicare payment cuts to radiation oncology cancer care, Thomas J. Eichler, MD, Chair of American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), issued the following statement.
NCCN Maintains Qualification as CMS-Approved Provider-Led Entity for the Development of Imaging Appropriate Use Criteria
NCCN, an alliance of 31 leading cancer centers, has again qualified as a provider-led entity (PLE) for the Medicare Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) Program by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the nation’s largest health payer.
CAP Secures CMS Reapproval as Accreditation Organization
The College of American Pathologists (CAP) earned reapproval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as an accreditation organization for clinical laboratories.
Physician and Patient Groups Call On CMS to Update Medicare Lung Cancer Screening Coverage
STS—in collaboration with the GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer and the American College of Radiology—formally requested that CMS update its coverage policies to reflect the new USPSTF lung cancer screening guidelines.
ASTRO applauds nominations of Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as CMS administrator and Elizabeth Fowler as CMMI director
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) today expressed its support for President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s nomination of Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the appointment of Elizabeth Fowler as director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).
Coffea speeds up particle physics data analysis
The prodigious amount of data produced at the Large Hadron Collider presents a major challenge for data analysis. Coffea, a Python package developed by Fermilab researchers, speeds up computation and helps scientists work more efficiently. Around a dozen international LHC research groups now use Coffea, which draws on big data techniques used outside physics.
American College of Surgeons calls on Congress to prevent CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule from taking effect
The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule released today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will harm patients and further destabilize a health care system already under severe strain from the COVID-19 pandemic.
New legislation introduced to protect patient access to surgical care
Representatives Ami Bera, MD (CA-7) and Larry Bucshon, MD (IN-8), along with six lead co-sponsors, introduced legislation today that will protect patients’ access to surgical care by stopping cuts to Medicare payments for surgical specialties.
Three students awarded DOE Graduate Student Research Fellowships
Three students have received the prestigious Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research Fellowships to conduct their research at Fermilab. DOE awarded these fellowships to 52 students from U.S. universities.
Fermilab scientists selected as APS fellows
Three Fermilab scientists have been selected 2020 fellows of the American Physical Society, a distinction awarded each year to no more than one-half of 1 percent of current APS members by their peers.
The next big thing: the use of graph neural networks to discover particles
Fermilab scientists have implemented a cloud-based machine learning framework to handle data from the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Now they can begin to use graph neural networks to boost their pattern recognition abilities in the search for new particles.
ASTRO responds to CMS Radiation Oncology Model: Implementation delay and more reforms needed
In response to today’s announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish an advanced alternative payment model (APM) for radiation oncology practices starting January 1, 2021, the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) issued the following statement from Theodore L. DeWeese, MD, FASTRO, Chair of the ASTRO Board of Directors.
ACR Applauds E/M Coding Changes, Telehealth Expansion in FY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) today applauded the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for taking steps to appropriately value cognitive care and expand telehealth access in its FY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Proposed Rule.
AANA Supports CMS Action to Cut Red Tape for Providers
Leaders of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) are encouraged by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announcement on the creation of the Office of Burden Reduction and Health Informatics in an effort to “cut red tape” for providers.
CMS collaboration publishes 1,000th paper
On June 19, scientists at the CMS experiment at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider published their 1,000th paper. The monumental achievement reflects an incomparable contribution to humanity’s understanding of the universe — and it’s just the beginning.
American College of Surgeons joins Surgical Care Coalition
Today the American College of Surgeons reinforced its commitment to protect surgical patients, improve their quality of life, and ensure access to—and choice of—surgical care by announcing it joined the Surgical Care Coalition (SCC) as a founding member.
‘Flash photography’ at the LHC
An extremely fast new detector inside the CMS detector will allow physicists to get a sharper image of particle collisions.
Two Rush Hospitals Receive Five Stars for Quality
Rush University Medical Center and Rush Oak Park Hospital again earned high marks in one of the nation’s most respected assessments of health care quality. Both hospitals received five-star ratings, the highest possible, from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Rush Copley Medical Center received four stars from CMS
Congressional leaders support radiation oncology community concerns about proposed Medicare alternative payment model
Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle issued a series of oversight letters to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in recent months to urge the Agency to adjust its proposed radiation oncology advanced alternative payment model (RO Model). CMS is expected to issue its final determination before the end of 2019.
Rule Change by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Recognizes CRNAs’ Expert Care
The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) commends the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) for recognizing a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist’s (CRNA) ability to perform pre-anesthetic assessments in Ambulatory Surgical Centers as part of the final rule made Nov. 1 on the Physician Fee Schedule.
The Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program is struggling with enrollment, but hope remains in diabetes education programs.
Angela Forfia is a senior manager of diabetes prevention at the American Association of Diabetes Educators, working with diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) programs throughout the U.S. to implement the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). AADE has pioneered the…