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Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Hospitals:

MORE LIFE SUPPORT FOR RURAL HOSPITALS

Published on Sat Jan 17, 2004

New rule secures cash flow to rural hospitals, changes payments on certain drugs.

More than one thousand small rural hospitals and sole community hospitals are getting an extension on desperately needed reimbursement support. Special add-on payments for these facilities, designed to ensure that they're paid at least as much under the outpatient prospective payment system as they had been paid under the prior cost-based methodology, were set to expire in the new year. An interim final rule issued by CMS Dec. 31 will safeguard these payments for two additional years. The rule also modifies the way Medicare pays for radiopharmaceuticals and drugs and biologicals in the outpatient setting. To see the rule, go to: www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a040106c.html. Lesson learned: Small hospitals have been spared the anticipated cut-off - but they may still feel the pinch of decreased reimbursement on certain drugs.

 
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