- Home
- » e-Newsletters
MedPAC sees pros and cons to physician-owned specialty hospitals
Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, November 2, 2004
The preliminary results of an analysis study of physician-owned specialty hospitals conducted by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) are in, and it seems that, thus far, the commission has been able to make a case for and against the proliferation of such facilities.
According to a statement issued last week by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), MedPAC representatives offered a presentation of their preliminary study findings at the AAPS's October 16 annual meeting in Portland, OR. At that time, the commission allegedly indicated that specialty hospitals could have a role in inspiring community hospitals to improve their levels of patient care and customer service, acting as "a wake-up call" for such institutions.
However, MedPAC-which is studying the issue as a requirement of the Medicare Modernization Act-isn't offering any ringing endorsement to the rise of these physician-owned specialties. In an article published by ModernPhysician.com, the commission is credited with offering the troubling assessment that these specialty hospitals are treating a more "favorable" selection of patients than community hospitals. By this, the study means that many high-paying services having to do with cardiac and orthopedic surgery are being snapped up by the specialty hospitals, leaving their public counterparts to toil away at the less-profitable ones.
MedPAC Commissioner Ralph Muller was quoted, in the ModernPhysician.com article, saying, "It destroys our payment system to have this going on." MedPAC figures to clarify its overall position when it releases a larger report on specialty hospitals in March 2005, just three months before a moratorium on new physician investment in specialty hospitals (provided for in the Medicare act) expires in June.
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- HIPAA Q&A: Flu shot requirement for hospital employees
- HealthDataInsights posts new issues for medical necessity claims
- Running an effective peer review committee meeting
- Q&A: Incidental disclosures and patient privacy
- Sneak Peek: Effort underway to establish caseload benchmarks
- New FAQ posted on storing laryngoscope blades
- Tip: Perform your own internal investigation prior to government audit
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- HIPAA 5010 deadline extended, but threat remains, says AMA
- HHS task force: Consider privacy, security with text messages
- E-mailed
-
- Running an effective peer review committee meeting
- HIPAA Q&A: Flu shot requirement for hospital employees
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- HHS task force: Consider privacy, security with text messages
- Featured blog post: Nurses face felony charges after reporting physician to the Texas Medical Board
- Tip: Correctly code bilateral pain management procedures
- 2012 CPT code changes for ASCs: Shoulder and knee scopes and pain management
- COT basics to best
- Documentation and coding for toxic metabolic encephalopathy
- Guidance and tact key to compliant, effective physician queries
- Searched