Healthcare DIVE August 3, 2018
Dive Brief:
- CMS on Thursday issued its final rule on the Inpatient Prospective Payment System, cementing the agency’s April proposal to increase transparency by pushing hospitals to post standard charges online in a machine-readable format. The rule doesn’t require posting any more information than hospitals are already mandated to provide to the public, but CMS has issued a request for information seeking input on furthering pricing transparency.
- The final rule boosts payment rates for general acute care hospitals paid under IPPS by about 1.85%, up from the 1.75% bump proposed in April. Payments for long-term care hospitals have been increased 1.35%, up from the proposed 1.15%. CMS estimates the rate hike will increase Medicare spending on inpatient...