Health Law Monitor

CMS Announces Cut in Physician Reimbursement Rates and Changes to Supervision Requirements for Outpatient Services

CMS issued the 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule, which cuts physician reimbursement by 24.9% between November 2010 and January 2011. Additionally, CMS recently released its 2011 Outpatient Prospective Payment System final rule setting forth several changes to physician supervision requirements for hospital outpatient services to take effect on January 1, 2011.

CMS CLARIFIES SUPERVISION REQUIREMENTS FOR OUTPATIENT SERVICES

CMS recently released its 2010 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) rule clarifying the requirements for supervision of certain hospital outpatient services. The rule makes clear that if direct physician supervision is required for the performance of an outpatient service, this level of supervision may not be assumed to exist in a hospital setting. Rather, a hospital must establish a plan or policy to ensure that the direct supervision required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) for a particular outpatient service is available. Read More.