Within the Final Rule CMS has indicated that it is accepting comments only on the issue of Capital-Related Costs. Here is the exact wording from the Final Rule:

We will consider public comments only on the provisions of section V., Changes to the IPPS for Capital-Related Costs, of the preamble of this final rule with comment period, if we receive them at one of the addresses provided below, no later than 5 p.m. on November 20, 2007.

Please be sure to list file code “CMS-1533-FC” on your comment and within the address to make sure it is properly routed. Below lists the instructions contained in the Final Rule for comment submission:
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The Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on August 22. You can obtain a PDF of the Final Rule by clicking here. (Note: the PDF is 25 MB, so it may take a while to download.)

Ingenix experts will be reviewing this official version of the Final Rule to determine if it contains any variations from the version that CMS posted online Aug. 1.
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Both hospitals and insurance companies got together recently to understand how MS-DRGs may affect contracting arrangements between them. Ingenix hosted two webinars that focused on “Contracting Implications of MS-DRGs,” on Aug. 7 and 9. Below are highlights of the responses to questions asked by webinar participants.

As you read this post, keep in mind that Ingenix is hosting the following additional webinars in the future to address your questions:
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An article in the New York Times raises some interesting points about CMS’s new policy, outlined in the Final Rule, to not pay for numerous hospital-acquired conditions and preventable errors. The article written by Robert Pear, "Medicare Says It Won’t Cover Hospital Errors," appeared Aug. 18.

Here are some highlights from the article:
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Medicare's new policy to not pay for hospital-acquired conditions and errors is generating a great deal of posts in the blogosphere. The Physician Executive blog had a post on Aug. 19 that describes a provider’s perspective on the issue. Blog author Zagreus Ammon, MD, makes some interesting points:

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CMS is anticipating that facilities will raise their level of coding and documentation to capture severity of illness information. In response, CMS is proposing an adjustment to eliminate the effect of these anticipated changes that do not reflect real changes in case-mix. To help organizations prepare for these changes, I've developed a webinar we've called "Preparing to Code Effectively Under MS-DRGs.”

Facilities who are not prepared to change their coding practices can expect to lose 1.2% on average in revenue in FY2008 and another 1.8% on average in both FY2009 and FY2010. This session will provide an overview of the changes in the DRG system that will directly affect inpatient coding and will provide strategies to prepare for these changes.
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The industry has numerous questions about MS-DRGs, as is evidenced by the many queries from participants in our IPPS Final Rule Webinar that we hosted on Aug. 14 and 16. Below are some highlights of the questions and answers.

As you read this post, keep in mind that Ingenix is hosting the following additional Webinars in the future to address your questions:
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Since CMS published its IPPS FY2008 Final Rule Aug. 1, my team and I have been reviewing the document to uncover the details. To learn more about what the Final Rule means to your organization, we invite you to attend our MS-DRG Readiness Webinar: MS-DRGs and the FY 2008 Inpatient PPS Final Rule.

This session will summarize the major changes in the Final Rule. Attendees 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. In addition, we will review relevant industry comments on the Proposed Rule. Attendees will learn about:
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In its Final Rule, CMS lists the hospital-acquired conditions that it will use to meet the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) requirements. Beginning in FY2009 (Oct. 1, 2008), cases with these conditions will not be paid at a higher rate unless the conditions were present on admission.

CMS partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to identify a list of 13 potential high-volume, hospital-acquired conditions that hospitals could have reasonably prevented. CMS also worked with CDC to propose financial penalties for when these conditions occur. Besides the CDC, CMS also solicited input from hospital associations and other organizations. CMS applied the following criteria to select these conditions:
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The RAND Corporation published a report comparing MS-DRGs with the five other severity-adjustment systems that were being considered by CMS. The report is an addendum to RAND’s interim report that was published in March, which evaluated severity-adjustment systems before CMS announced its intention to create MS-DRGs.

The six severity-adjustments systems that were compared with MS-DRGs were:
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In the day following the posting of IPPS Final Rule by CMS, the American Hospital Association (AHA) issued a strong statement urging the industry to oppose the payment cuts proposed by CMS.

"Cutting payments for services for America's seniors will put in jeopardy hospitals' ability to care, not only for Medicare patients, but also for anyone who comes through the doors. We must work together as a field and with Congress to send a clear message – cuts to hospitals services threaten care for the elderly and disabled covered by Medicare," the AHA statement read.
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decided to keep Medicare Severity DRGs (MS-DRGs) in their Inpatient Prospective Payment System Final Rule for Fiscal Year 2008.

It may have surprised some industry watchers that MS-DRGs were included in the Final Rule, after the U.S. House of Representatives voted for an amendment in late July that would require CMS to postpone MS-DRG implementation for a year. The amendment was attached to a Health and Human Services spending bill, which must still be passed by the U.S. Senate, and, if passed by Congress, signed into law by Pres. Bush.
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Today, CMS posted its Final Rule for changes to its FY 2008 IPPS. A brief review of the CMS press release and the Final Rule reveals that:

1. The new severity-adjusted DRGs wil be phased in over two years, rather than one year, as detailed in April’s proposed rule, and
2. The “behavioral offset” cuts will be implemented.

Watch for more posts on this blog in the coming days after we have a chance to read and analyze the Final Rule. In the meantime, here are links for:
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