CMS releases final 2009 OPPS rule, e-prescribing incentive program

CMS yesterday released its final rule for the outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) in calendar year (CY) 2009, under which the agency will give providers a 3.6% annual inflation update and pay an estimated $30.1 billion in 2009 for outpatient services, up from an estimated $28.5 billion for CY 2008 (see related story in the July 7 Daily Briefing). Hospitals that do not meet quality reporting requirements, however, will receive a 1.6% inflation update.

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CMS updates PQRI website for Physician quality reporting

The Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) has added an e-prescribing incentive program on the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) web site. The page includes a fact sheet that describes the MIPPA provisions for the e-prescribing incentive program. Additional information on the program and how to quality for the e-prescribing incentive for the 2009 reporting year will be posted in early November.

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Physician group urges CMS to improve quality reporting program

The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) yesterday, an association of physician practices, asked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to respond to members’ concerns with CMS’s Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). PQRI is a CMS quality reporting program that pays bonuses to physicians to report certain physician-level quality measures. The physician group cited research on physician practices’ experiences with the program that found lack of data for improving patient outcomes, the administrative burden of participation, the difficulty accessing and downloading the 2007 feedback reports, and the delay from the time data were submitted to the time reports were available.

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