CMS Final Medicare Outpatient Rule Gives Patients More Surgical Site Choices, At Lower Costs

The US Medicare agency is offering more lower-cost alternative sites for 2021 surgical procedures to be covered under its OPPS and ASC final rule.

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The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a final Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center rule for 2021 aimed at increasing value for Medicare beneficiaries and lowering their costs, the agency announced on 2 December.

In the final rule, the CMS will begin eliminating from its Inpatient Only (IPO) list 1,700 procedures for which Medicare will only pay when they are performed in the...

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