Advisory panel recommends CMS remove total knees from inpatient-only list

Editor's Note

The Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP) on August 22 unanimously recommended that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) remove total knees from its inpatient-only list, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) reports.

CMS is requesting information on the feasibility of removing total knees from the list, and ASCA is urging orthopedic surgeons, nurses, and ASC administrators to send letters to CMS.

Removal from the inpatient-only list is the first step toward reimbursement for outpatient total knees by Medicare.