What to do when the Final Rule is released

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is expected to publish its Final Rule regarding MS-DRGs in the Federal Register around August 1, although a draft format may get posted earlier. Interested parties should check the CMS website toward the end of this month to see if a draft format is posted.

The Final Rule will describe CMS’s plans for FY 2008, including the implementation of severity-adjusted DRGs. Organizations will need to act immediately on the contents of this rule. Once it becomes available, we recommend you do the following:

• Use a task force to synthesize the contents of the final rule and update the action plan.
• The final rule will be long and may seem complicated. Use available industry resources to make sense of it and understand its implications.
• Communicate contents of final rule and implications throughout the facility.

Webinar: MS-DRGs and the FY2008 IPPS Final Rule
Two weeks after the anticipated release date of CMS’s Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Final Rule for FY2008, I will be conducting a webinar that will summarize the major changes in the Final Rule for hospital inpatient Medicare services. You will learn about the new severity-adjusted DRGs as well as review changes to reimbursement rules and factors, quality initiatives, and expected financial and operational impacts. Click here for more information or to register.