Editor's Note On October 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final 2016 payment rule for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). ASC payment rates will increase by 0.3%, which is based on a projected inflation rate of 0.8% minus a 0.5% productivity adjustment required by the Affordable…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its final rules detailing how it will pay for services provided by physicians and other healthcare professionals in 2016. Key policies finalized in the rules include: Updates to the “Two-Midnight” rule, which clarifies when inpatient admissions are appropriate…

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Editor's Note The 2014 Institute of Medicine report calls for restructuring of Medicare funding for graduate medical education to incorporate pay-for-performance methods. However, to evaluate and financially reward residency programs based on performance, performance must be defined and measurable. This study assesses general surgery residency program performance using outcomes, including…

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Clinical and social characteristics not included in Medicare’s current risk-adjustment methods explained much of the difference in readmission risk between patients admitted to hospitals with higher versus lower readmission rates, a study finds. The Medicare Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program penalizes hospitals with higher than expected 30-day readmission rates by reducing…

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Editor's Note Wider adoption of “dropless” cataract surgery could save Medicare more than $7.1 billion over the next 10 years, a new study finds. In addition, patients could save an additional $1.4 billion for out-of-pocket costs for pharmaceutical co-payments, and states could save $124 million in Medicaid payments. The dropless…

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Editor's Note Researchers found significant differences in the odds of 30-day readmissions after total hip arthroplasties on the basis of race, socioeconomic status, and payer. African American and Hispanic patients had a higher risk of readmissions than white patients. Lower socioeconomic status was linked to higher odds of readmission. Medicare…

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Editor's Note In this study on the effect of patient and hospital factors on surgical outcomes and costs at safety-net hospitals, researchers found that hospital resources and not necessarily patient factors lead to inferior outcomes and increased costs. Hospital Compare data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website…

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Editor's Note For six outpatient surgical procedures, prices paid to ASCs grew in line with general medical prices, whereas prices paid to hospital outpatient departments for the same procedures climbed sharply, this study finds. Private insurers paid ASCs considerably more than Medicare for the same procedures. Medicare pays ASCs a legislated…

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Editor's Note Two different measurement systems are used to track performance in lowering the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality metric has shown a 28.2% decrease in CAUTIs since 2010, whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s metric has shown a…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on October 8 released data showing that 99% of Medicare-certified ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) use a Safe Surgery Checklist, the ASC Association reports. The data was collected in 2012 and made public on Medicare’s Hospital Compare website. Today, the Centers for…

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