CMS Reports Error in MS-DRG Weights, Issues Revised Data

If you’ve been carefully analyzing the impact that MS-DRGs will have on your organization, you might need to reexamine your data.

CMS reported the discovery of an error in the way DRG relative weights were calculated in its FY 2008 IPPS Proposed Rule. CMS issued the report May 17th and posted the corrected data tables on its Web site, which can be accessed by clicking here and here.

Within the corrected data tables, CMS revised the relative weights and recalculated the IPPS standardized amounts. Using the revised weights, the IPPS standardized amounts will increase by $0.18, the outlier threshold will decrease by $85 to $22,940, and there will be minor changes to selected wage indices.

CMS said that it will publish the correction in the Federal Register.

Ingenix offers a free grouper that can be used to examine the DRG changes, available at HospitalBenchmarks.com. If you need a large volume of claims analyzed, feel free to send us an email.